Forth Road Bridge
SPC have been awarded a major consultancy contract by the Forth Road
Bridge Joint Board.
Spanning the river Forth estuary in Scotland, it was the largest suspension
bridge in Europe,at the time of construction, with a length, including
the approach viaducts, of over 1.5 miles and a main span alone of
3,300 feet.
 The
original protection system of zinc metal spray and 4 coats of paint,
now over 37 years old was surveyed by specialists from SPC.
This has enabled the Bridge Board's maintenance management team
to implement a repainting programme, which will protect the bridge
steelwork for a further 25 - 30 years.
Forth Rail Bridge
Adjacent to the Forth Road Bridge is an equally famous structure,
the Forth Rail Bridge, opened in 1890.
It is perhaps most famous for the myth that its 55,000 tons of steel
is being continuously repainted by operatives who start at one end
and by the time they finish at the other, it’s time to start
all over again.
Contractors, Pyeroy Ltd have involved SPC at the southern end of
the bridge as witness to the preparation and the application of
a new coatings system.
Sample panels, identical to a section of the bridge, are being retained
by SPC for analysis during the duration of the guarantee period.
Contractors at the northern end of the bridge will later compare
and contrast their results with Pyeroy Ltd.
RAILWAY GIANT: A section of the Forth Rail Bridge
gives some indication of the massive scale of the painting project.
…And Some Others Recent
surveys conducted by SPC include Blackfriars Bridge, London, where
the original metalwork was exposed after more than 170 years.
Also the M58-M6 Winstanley bridge over the railway near Orrell,
Lancashire, where failure investigations were conducted; the A14
Stowmarket bypass; and the bypass bridges at Kings Lynn, Norfolk,
where premature failure of the maintenance coatings had occurred
on all five structures.
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