A view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge during the climb / Pic: Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb Source: Supplied
SYDNEY Harbour Bridge is set to undergo its biggest makeover in 81 years, to remove highly-toxic lead paint from its structures.
The city side of the iconic bridge, which is used by bridge climbers and is closer to residential homes and offices in The Rocks, will be sanded back to bare steel and repainted with a non-lead-based paint - which will last 30 years.
The colour will still be "Harbour Bridge Grey".
Roads and Maritime Services NSW said work to sand back the lead paint would be carried out in a "laboratory-style", air-tight, sealed environment by workers wearing biotech suits.
An RMS spokeswoman said there was no risk of flakes of lead paint becoming airborne and harming members of the public, including climbers.
"Using lead-based products 81 years ago wasn't ideal but the RMS has always worked to make sure there were measures in place so no danger was ever posed to the public," the spokeswoman said. "This continues with the repainting of the bridge in 2013."
Gordian Fulde, head of emergency at St Vincent's Hospital, said lead poisoning could be fatal. "If lead gets into your system it can deposit in parts of your brain and cause irreversible injury," Dr Fulde said. "It can affect your metabolism and in some cases you can die." He said the smoke from burning lead paint and ingesting the flakes could result in lead poisoning and was particularly dangerous to children.
The bridge overhaul will take two years and cost about $10 million from the $18 million annual bridge maintenance budget.
Not since the 1932 has such an enormous project on Sydney's most recognisable icon been undertaken.
"This grand dame of Sydney Harbour is getting a makeover with a high-performance, fade-resistant paint to help her endure the punishing conditions," Roads and Ports Minister Duncan Gay said yesterday.
"We have 50 painters each day working away on various stages of the project, which is an investment in not just a key piece of infrastructure but a much-loved icon."
About 485,000sq m of steelwork - the equivalent of 60 football fields - needs to be painted.
Although only one half of the bridge would be painted at first, the difference in the two paints would be undetectable to the eyes of Sydneysiders and tourist cameras, Mr Gay said. "Once the southern spans are painted, our crews will resume regular maintenance painting on the main arch and northern spans."
The new paint will help keep rust at bay.
Huge sections of the world-famous coathanger, particularly at the northern end, have suffered from heavy rust and corrosion in recent decades.
It takes 30,000 litres of paint for just one coat on the Harbour Bridge and it is maintained by a team of almost 100 RTA workers, most at the site full-time.
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