Darling Harbour repainting

Back to Bridges Next Project

Working in a high-profile public space with minimal disturbance to public amenity

Road & Fleet Services delivered this project in the high profile tourist precinct of Sydney's Darling Harbour. The challenge was to preserve the character, aesthetics and tourist appeal of the bridge while minimising the impact on local businesses, visitors and local residents.

Paint removal and repainting is one of RFS's outstanding fields of expertise.

The project involved:

• installing a secure site compound with a hoarding to prevent public access
• installing containment encapsulation to the standard (Level A) appropriate to the type of work. Level A containment involves full encapsulation of the work area with an extraction system to maintain positive air flow through the work area.
• erecting scaffolding to the access platforms
• erecting a hoarding over the adjacent pedestrian ramp
• removing the existing paint surface and localised corrosion with garnet grit blasting. The total area of steel to be blasted and repainted was 82,000 square metres.
• repainting the steel bridge beams with an epoxy

Challenges and solutions

• Working in a high profile environment
• Aesthetics
• Time

Working in a high profile environment

RFS planned the work and working times to accommodate around scheduled events in the Darling Harbour precinct, such as the FIFA World Cup

• We maintained constant communication with all stakeholders about work planning
• We minimised the ground space taken up by the works by using suspended platforms
• We used reduced-noise-output extractors and compressors.

Aesthetics and quality

Aside from preserving public amenity during the works, the aesthetic values of the finished work were an important part of the outcome, due to the iconic nature of the bridge and its importance to the public. Aesthetic values became an essential deliverable in the quality plan.