Forth Bridge painters to down brushes in 2012

Finally off to the pub after 100 years

By Lester Haines • Get more from this author

Posted in Bootnotes, 18th February 2008 15:52 GMT

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Painting on the Forth Rail Bridge is scheduled to end in 2012, concluding over 100 years of relentless brushwork which inspired the phrase "like painting the Forth Bridge", the BBC reports.

Network Rail is set to end the century of endless slog by stumping £74m for a three-coat paint job similar to that used on oil rigs and which will last for up to 40 years.

Network Rail big cheese Iain Coucher said: "The work currently being undertaken will restore the bridge to its original condition and preserve the steel-work for decades to come. The team currently working on the bridge has now completed some of the most difficult work and they have already overcome the most significant challenges that this project posed."

Engineering firm Balfour Beatty has indeed been hard at work on the structure, and spokesman Marshall Scott explained: "We have now worked in excess of 2.4 million hours on the bridge over six years. We now look forward to taking this project to completion in 2012 and, with the removal of the scaffolding, the restoration of this remarkable bridge will return it to near pristine condition." ®

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