I met a guy once that worked on a crew that painted the Golden Gate Bridge for corrosion control. I asked him what he did when they were done and he said "Go back to the other end and start over." He'd never worked on any other bridge in the area.
The Forth Bridge in Scotland had that system since it was built in 1890. They've recently gone onto a more high-tech (epoxy, I think) which only needs recoating - as far as I remember - every seven years. More jobs gone, I suppose . . .
Tons of respect for the fellows who can do that kind of work . I am happier close to the ground. The view must be great , but I wouldnt enjoy it . I do Maintenace I can function working on a boom lift or platform , but I absolutely hate dangling off a ladder .it is one fear that I have not conquered , I just try not to think about it when I'm 40 feet above the deck fixing a light or something.
I was at the Golden Gate's 50th anniversary and have a photo with a guy who was on the paint crew, he said the same thing, that's their full time job. BTW, the whole celebration that day got completely out of control. At one point we were part of the crowd trying to get back to the Marin side against a southbound crush, the bridge was absolutely full of people, end to end and handrail to handrail. We temporarily took the arch out of it.
I was friends with a man who was on the crew that painted there. He told me the same thing, that they finished at one end and started over. Him and 2 friends somehow found a stamp in an old house that was worth in the low millions of dollars. I lost touch with him after I got out of high school and quit going to the upper peninsula several times during the summer. But the intention was that they were going to sell it at auction. I used to hate heights, until I started to put up antennas for ham radio. I still don't like heights, but I can operate at them. There is a radio tower near my hometown. The thing was to climb to the first platform and try and steal the light that was there. Nobody ever actually did it, so I don't know if it was even possible to remove it from the thing, but I seem to remember that it was 65 feet up. I do remember that I never got that high, before I had to admit defeat and go back down. You don't realize just how high up 65 feet is, until you try and climb that high.
The mighty Mac is 5 miles long overall, including nearly 4 miles of trestle leading to the suspension bridge in the center. The main span over the ship channel is 3800 feet long and 155 feet above the water. When it opened in 1957, this was one of the world's largest suspension bridges, although not as long as the longest span of the Golden Gate.
But I think what makes painting it a 7 year process is all that length of trestle - it's not particularly high or difficult as bridge painting goes, but it goes on and on. The Golden Gate is much shorter overall (1.7 mile), but it's taller, and most of it is way up in the air for the painters.
Someone told me about being a painter for a small but high bridge in Mass. in the 1960s. "Whenever we wanted a break, we'd accidentally drop the brush and have to go back to get another."
I'm surprised they don't use paint mitts like are used for painting broadcast towers. It's easier to control the paint in the wind with the mitt rather than with a brush.
In my 44 years painting bridges I never painted the same one twice.
ReplyDeleteMy nearest neighbor works on a bridge painting crew. He's someplace different in the eastern US every summer.
DeleteThe Forth Bridge in Scotland had that system since it was built in 1890. They've recently gone onto a more high-tech (epoxy, I think) which only needs recoating - as far as I remember - every seven years. More jobs gone, I suppose . . .
ReplyDeleteIt is like a democrat working on gun laws: a never ending story.
ReplyDeleteTons of respect for the fellows who can do that kind of work . I am happier close to the ground. The view must be great , but I wouldnt enjoy it . I do Maintenace I can function working on a boom lift or platform , but I absolutely hate dangling off a ladder .it is one fear that I have not conquered , I just try not to think about it when I'm 40 feet above the deck fixing a light or something.
ReplyDeleteI was at the Golden Gate's 50th anniversary and have a photo with a guy who was on the paint crew, he said the same thing, that's their full time job. BTW, the whole celebration that day got completely out of control. At one point we were part of the crowd trying to get back to the Marin side against a southbound crush, the bridge was absolutely full of people, end to end and handrail to handrail. We temporarily took the arch out of it.
ReplyDeleteThe Mackinac Bridge is continuously painted due to its length
ReplyDeleteI was friends with a man who was on the crew that painted there. He told me the same thing, that they finished at one end and started over.
DeleteHim and 2 friends somehow found a stamp in an old house that was worth in the low millions of dollars. I lost touch with him after I got out of high school and quit going to the upper peninsula several times during the summer. But the intention was that they were going to sell it at auction.
I used to hate heights, until I started to put up antennas for ham radio. I still don't like heights, but I can operate at them. There is a radio tower near my hometown. The thing was to climb to the first platform and try and steal the light that was there. Nobody ever actually did it, so I don't know if it was even possible to remove it from the thing, but I seem to remember that it was 65 feet up. I do remember that I never got that high, before I had to admit defeat and go back down. You don't realize just how high up 65 feet is, until you try and climb that high.
The mighty Mac is 5 miles long overall, including nearly 4 miles of trestle leading to the suspension bridge in the center. The main span over the ship channel is 3800 feet long and 155 feet above the water. When it opened in 1957, this was one of the world's largest suspension bridges, although not as long as the longest span of the Golden Gate.
DeleteBut I think what makes painting it a 7 year process is all that length of trestle - it's not particularly high or difficult as bridge painting goes, but it goes on and on. The Golden Gate is much shorter overall (1.7 mile), but it's taller, and most of it is way up in the air for the painters.
I can not even begin to imagine how windy that job must be, even on a good day. Yikes.
ReplyDeleteYessir, that wind can flat out howl at the entrance to the Bay where the Golden Gate Bridge is located.
DeleteWonder how many coats have been applied and what’s the accumulated weight of them…
ReplyDeleteYep, shipmate's father had 'painted' that bridge for 40 years! And yes, wind IS an issue, which is why they paint with brushes, not spray painting.
ReplyDeleteSomeone told me about being a painter for a small but high bridge in Mass. in the 1960s. "Whenever we wanted a break, we'd accidentally drop the brush and have to go back to get another."
ReplyDeleteDon't send this man to do a robot's job.
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised they don't use paint mitts like are used for painting broadcast towers. It's easier to control the paint in the wind with the mitt rather than with a brush.
ReplyDeletei would love to be up on that platform. but the climb up would be a stone bitch.
ReplyDeleteJrffersonian