Forth Rail Bridge
The Forth Rail Bridge was finished on the 4th March 1890 using some 54000 tons of steel and over 3000000 rivets to build her 3 impressive 110m high double cantilevers and 2 smaller suspended spans. In 1996 rail track began the structural and maintenance assessment of the bridge with the results of this leading to the refurbishment program that has spanned over 10 years.
Geckotech Solutions Ltd has been supplying industrial rope access services to clients bridge wide since 2008. Technicians have been completing various tasks at height with the core work scope being the locating, preparing and coating of contact points found through the length of the structure. Contact points are small areas left on the structure where the scaffolding systems were connected to the structure during the main blasting and coating operation.
Once the scaffold systems are removed our technicians install a safe system of work allowing us to access each member removing potential dropped objects and carrying out the coating works. Geckotech staff members used the MBX Bristle Blaster Surface Preparation Tool to prepare the surface followed by a coat of glass flake and finally a topcoat of PU.
The refurbishment project has been a success with many tens of thousands of man hours worked on ropes in this technical environment. The communication between the various contractors on the bridge was paramount throughout the project.
Geckotech are proud to be a part of this project and look forward to the final brush strokes later this year.
