This icon of Victorian engineering is one of the most famous structures in the World. But the painting of the bridge has for long been a cliché for a never-ending task. Twenty years ago Pell Frischmann were asked to find a solution. They carried out condition surveys, often by rope access, and analysed the degrees and rates of corrosion. Complex computer programmes proved, fortunately, that the bridge was strong enough. Repairs and paint systems were researched and specified, and carried out in weatherproof enclosures whose loads on the structure had to be checked. Finally it is finished and the bridge has a coating that should last for 25 years.
The judges were impressed by the twenty years of painstaking effort needed to find a solution to the endless painting of the bridge. Pell Frischmann carried out condition surveys, and analysed the extent and rates of corrosion. They researched paint systems and checked the additional weight on the bridge from the weatherproof enclosures needed to apply them. The bridge now has a coating that should last for at least 25 years. More than just a paint job!