From the Resene News – issue 4/2002

Bridging the divide - Hamilton's Victoria Bridge
Altex Coatings has left its mark on over half a dozen bridges spanning the Waikato River. The oldest of these is Hamilton's Victoria Bridge, first painted by Altex in 1978.

Victoria Bridge, which currently has traffic levels in excess of 27,250 vehicles a day, was strengthened and had a new deck and handrails added in 1991. Coating of modifications and ongoing maintenance requirements has been made using Altex products.

The first and second coats on the bridge saw Altex Zinkex, a 90 per cent zinc coating, applied as a spot primer to all exposed metal followed by a full build coat of Altex CBHD primer and a finish coat of Altex CBHD Ferrox to give a total coating thickness of just 200 microns thick over existing coatings and 260 microns over bare metal.

Inspection of the paintwork in 1989 found it to be in good condition. The bridge extension two years later saw the successful formulation and application by Altex of a modern zinc/epoxy/urethane-based coating system on the new 5520 square metre orthotropic deck.

The 152 metre long steel structure is a three pin arch bridge connecting the southern end of Hamilton's CBD with Hamilton East. It features a two-lane carriageway and footpath. Opened in 1910, the bridge has an Historic Places Trust classification. As Hamilton City Council engineer Cliff Boyt says: "We couldn't pull it down even if we wanted to. It's now a permanent, attractive feature of Hamilton."

Mike O'Sullivan, MD Altex Coatings Ltd
Tim Cavanagh, Hamilton City Council Special Projects Engineer

 
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