Bridge linking Denmark to Sweden to get new lick of paint in 13-year operation

Muehlhan AG

20/01/2020 11:12

ORESUND, Jan 20 (Reuters) - The nearly eight-kilometre (five
mile) bridge linking Denmark and Sweden is to get a new lick of
paint for the first time since it opened for traffic in 2000,
but it will take an estimated 13 years to complete the
mega-project.
    The Oresund Bridge, made famous by the Nordic noir TV crime
series 'The Bridge', needs the fresh coat of paint to maintain
its steel structure. The project will involve painting some
300,000 square metres of bridge.
    "The top layer of the five-layer painting system will wear
out within the next 10 years, so we have to apply a new top
layer to be able to maintain the lower levels, which protect the
steel from corrosion," project manager Johan Nord told Reuters. 
    The bridge was last painted in sections on land before being
assembled over the waterway. This time, a special platform has
had to be mounted beside the bridge, with the workmen hanging
from gantry cranes over the Oresund strait.
    "It's a very special job because you are working 20 to 30
metres above sea level hanging in gantry cranes to get access to
the bridge," Chief Executive of Muehlhan Denmark, Jens Mork,
said. 
    German industrial service provider Muehlhan  M4NG.DE  has
been chosen for the first two years of the project, which will
see an area equivalent to 42 soccer fields painted black.
    Mork said he expected to use between 300,000 and 400,000
litres of paint for the entire project. 

 (Reporting by Andreas Mortensen
Editing by Gareth Jones)
 ((andreas.mortensen@thomsonreuters.com; +45 33 96 96 75;))