Feb. 13, 2015
The intricate steelwork stands against the landscape as an emblem of history and industry. Views of the riveted steel from different angles show an engineered art form that few appreciate. Paris has the Eiffel Tower. Orange County has the Rainbow Bridge. These days motorists who rely on the South’s tallest bridge for daily travel don’t see the science and art behind the bridge. One lane will be closed for at least a year as the bridge is repainted and repaired. The Texas Department of Transportation reports about 27,000 cars and trucks a day cross the bridge. With one lane closed, traffic slows. Travelers get irritated because of a slower trip to go to work or a slower trek to get home after work. They probably don’t stop to marvel at the structure of the bridge. TxDOT says that enough steel is contained in the bridge to build a battleship.
The online industry magazine ConstructionEquipmentGuide.com recently did a story on the repair and repainting project. Saffo Contractors won the bid for the $26 million project, owner Nick Saffo told the magazine that workers will remove approximately 375 tons of paint before applying three new coats of paint. TxDOT shut down the bridge 20 years ago for a major restoration. The leaded paint was removed then and the paint currently being removed is not hazardous. Saffo said that about 10,000 to 12,000 gallons of paint will be used for each of the three coats. The first coat is a primer of zinc-based paint. Then the intermediate coat and a top coat will go on. He said workers normally get to go back on the bridge within 24 to 48 hours after a coat is completed. Of course, like all work, the painting will depend on weather. During the heat of the summer, the evenings may be the best time for painting, he said.
Crews arrived at the site in December. To begin the work, the company had about 25 people to set up the rigging. During peak times, 40 to 50 workers will be on the project.
Besides the painting, the project will also include replacement of nuts, bolts and beams, if needed. TxDOT says those kind of repairs need to be done about every 20 years. TxDOT engineers climb up and down the bridge once a year inspecting for any immediate problems. A video crew has made a short documentary about one of the annual inspections.
The bridge across the Neches River opened in 1938 to a giant celebration that drew the governor and about 20,000 people. A stunt man even jumped off and broke his legs. The bridge roadway is 176 above the river surface. Before the bridge opened, travelers had to take a ferry across the river to get from Orange County to Port Arthur. The history of the bridge has become part of the region’s lore. As automobile traffic grew, area officials knew a bridge was needed because of the slow-moving ferry. A serious push for a bridge started in early 1931. However, Beaumont business leaders worried that a bridge would stop the ship traffic to the Port of Beaumont and refused to support a bridge. During the next few years, a compromise was worked out. Beaumont officials insisted the bridge be tall enough to enable the tallest ship in the U.S. Navy to pass under. At the time, that ship was 185 feet tall because it had a dirigible tender. The compromise was that the bridge would be 176 feet tall. Construction started in 1936. Six lives were lost during the construction, including some of the “sandhogs,” the men who go beneath the surface of the river bottom to install the concrete pads that hold the structure to bedrock.
The Rainbow Bridge has earned a Texas Historical Marker and in 1996 was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
-Margaret Toal, KOGT-
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