Golden Gate Bridge Cables Get 1st Paint Coat In Nearly 75 Years
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS/AP) -- Crews are painting the main cables of the Golden Gate Bridge—giving them a fresh coat of the span's iconic "international orange" color for the first time after almost 75 years.
The project is expected to take up to four years to complete and will require tens of thousands of gallons of paint. Work on the outside layer of the cables began in May, but has been hampered by the summer fog.
KCBS' Barbara Taylor Reports:
Bridge painter Ronald Chatham told the Marin Independent Journal on Wednesday that crews have not been able to put a coat down for about two weeks because it's been too wet for the paint to stick.
Tom Scott has been working to help maintain the span for the last 25 years.
"It's got a life of its own and we do the best to take good care of it," he said.
Paint superintendent Rocky Dellarocca said most people may not understand the work that goes into their jobs.
"There's a lot of different variables that affect it. It's not just the weather," Dellarocca said. "It's manpower and equipment. There's a lot of stuff that goes along with it to get the bridge painted."
Among the danger is getting to a cable that climbs 700 feet to the top of the towers.
"You kind of move in slow motion when you work out here at these heights," Dellarocca said. "You really respect the heights and just take your time. It's more quality than quantity."
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