End of the metaphor. . . at least until 2031

IT BECAME a metaphor for a job without end. But the mammoth task of painting the Forth Bridge is about to be completed – and it shouldn’t need done again for at least two decades.

Painters are set to finish work on the iconic structure in December – ahead of schedule – after toiling for ten years at a cost of £130 million. It is hoped the paint job will last for more than 20 years.

Network Rail, which maintains the 121-year-old crossing, said the work would end the “modern myth” that painting the bridge would never be finished.

It is hoped the contract will be completed on 9 December, with a celebration event to mark the end of the refurbishment due to take place next March.

That will see the removal of unsightly scaffolding, which has been attached to the bridge for most of the past decade.

David Simpson, route managing director for Network Rail in Scotland, said: “Since 1890, the Forth Bridge has been a working monument to the genius of British railway engineering.

“Over the last decade, the bridge has been restored to its original condition and its new paint will preserve the steelwork for decades to come.

“The current restoration work has been ongoing since 2002 but, owing to years of under- investment during the 70s and 80s, the scale of the job was initially unclear.

“Now, with scaffolding being removed and the final sections of painting being completed, we’re confident that job will be finished before Christmas.”

The paint being used on the bridge is the same as is used on North Sea oil rigs and is expected to last for at least two decades.

However, workers will be required to carry out touch-up jobs from time to time to maintain the most exposed sections.

The current job requires contractors to erect scaffolding that is screened off from the elements before old layers of paint applied over the past 120 years are removed using an abrasive blasting technique.

Steelwork requiring maintenance is then repaired before the new paint is applied in three protective layers.

The expression “like painting the Forth Bridge” refers to a task that takes so long it needs redoing almost as soon as it is finished.

Colin Hardie, Balfour Beatty’s construction superintendent, said the “old cliche” was now dead, adding: “For the first time in the bridge’s history, there will be no painters required on the bridge. Job done.”

Marshall Scott, managing director of Balfour Beatty Regional Civil Engineering, said: “The now fully restored Forth Bridge will continue to operate for many decades to come.”

A 200-strong team has been involved in the project, applying a triple layer of “glass flake epoxy” paint. It creates a chemical bond to provide a virtually impenetrable layer to protect the steelwork from the weather.

An earlier repainting scheme should have been completed in 2001 but was abandoned.

Only about £500,000 a year was spent on painting at that stage, with new coats applied on top of existing paint in areas where it was needed. These coats lasted up to ten years. The most exposed sections were treated most often. A team of painters was employed almost continually, but rail cutbacks meant the process was interrupted.