What is never-ending job 'Painting of the Golden Gate Bridge'?

A huge suspension bridge in San FranciscoGolden Gate BridgeIs known as a spot where many tourists visit every day. It is a Golden Gate Bridge that attracts a lot of people, but it is a part that is not known so much that painting work that is never done is done behind it. CityLab has released the back side of the hidden work.

The Never-Ending Job of Painting the Golden Gate Bridge - CityLab
http://www.citylab.com/work/2015/04/the-fascinating-neverending-job-of-painting-the-golden-gate-bridge/390453/

Golden Gate Bridge completed in 1937 is a suspension bridge with a total length of 2737 meters and is known as a tourist attraction in San Francisco. The Golden Bridge has glowing without fade even in 2015 when about 80 years have passed since completion, but do not forget the existence of an excellent painting worker in that shadow.

37-year-old Chad Alan is a person who has engaged in painting of the Golden Gate Bridge since 2011. According to Mr. Alan, Golden Gate Bridge is not designed considering painting, so painstakingly involves a lot of pain. The highest part is 273 m in height, and the details of the bridge are in places where it is difficult to reach. When you work in a high place, you can work on a big gondola, sometimes it is just a state where you put a lifeline on your body.


It seems that when you are working at a place high enough to protrude from a high place or a bridge, when a large vehicle such as a truck passes nearby, you feel a big tremor even in the place you are working. A big shake can be done while working, but I think the most scary thing while Alan is working is the sea under the bridge. Not being scared of falling into the ocean, it seems that it will be difficult to concentrate on work, as I am not afraid of watching waves which swell greatly under the bridge and I do not know why.

Also, paint work requires many brushes and heavy equipment. I think heavy equipment is on the back and I think that working at a high place while supporting the body with a lifeline, my legs are going to scoop just by thinking.

Under such difficult circumstances, I paint bridges and do work to remove rust of parts like screws called "rivets". Approximately 600,000 rivets are used for the Golden Gate Bridge, it is a tremendous task to take rust out one by one, it can not end in a very day. That's why the painting work's work "Completion today" will not come.


In the long history of the Golden Gate Bridge, accidents have happened that the worker falls due to bad luck. In 1967, the scaffolding of the workers collapsed, furthermore the lifeline was cut off, the man who was doing the work falls and diesaccidentOccurred. Even though we are paying attention to safety, the risk of falling in working at a high place is a thing to happen.

At the Golden Gate Bridge, people may die even except for accidents. Actually, the Golden Gate Bridge is also known as a suicide spot, and by 2014 1653 people jumped off the bridge and committed suicide, becoming the world's fastest jumping suicide buildings. There are cases where the painter may encounter someone who is about to jump down and commit suicide so far, there are cases where suicide is prevented in advance by judgment of the painting worker. In addition, as of the writing of the article, construction such as attaching a net to take off the person who jumped down to prevent suicide is done.


It is a painstaking work that works in difficult places and sometimes encounters suicides, but sometimes I encounter sight from the work at the Golden Gate Bridge. According to Alan, there are times when you are seeing a big whale while you are working on a bridge, or you can see a wonderful view where the bridge is covered with fog, and that sight is beautiful as it remained in memory for a long time about. However, the greatest pleasure seems to be pride that can be felt from the work "protect the famous bridge in the world".