Pyeroy wins contract to repaint one of the UK’s oldest railway viaducts

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Protective coatings specialist Pyeroy has won the £1.5m contract to re-paint one of the country’s oldest railway bridges – the Ouseburn Viaduct located in Newcastle upon Tyne.

The work is part of a £10 million project being undertaken by main contractor Carillion on behalf of Network Rail to strengthen and repair the Grade II viaduct, which carries the East Coast railway line over the Ouseburn Valley.

The viaduct, which towers 108 ft above the River Ouseburn, was constructed in 1839 using laminated timber before being replaced in 1869 with a nine span structure featuring five central wrought iron arches.

This latest contract success for Gateshead-based Pyeroy follows completion of re-painting and refurbishing several other iconic Tyneside bridges – the Tyne Bridge, the lower level Swing Bridge, the QE II Metro Bridge and the High Level Bridge.

It also follows completion of the multi million pound contract to repaint London’s iconic Tower Bridge and Southwark Bridge after three years of work.

Repainting the viaduct is expected to take 10 months and will see a team of Pyeroy contractors grit blast all the ironwork on the 918 ft long structure before final surface preparation and the application of at least three coats of high performance paint coatings to meet Network Rail specifications.

Brendan Fitzsimons, director of Pyeroy’s Infrastructure Services Division, said:

“This is another prestigious project demonstrating how we deliver cost effective solutions with unparalleled experience in bridge refurbishment.

“The expertise and knowledge we bring, particularly when working in difficult locations at height, is based on our experience on projects like repainting the Forth Rail Bridge and Tower Bridge among many others.

“This unrivalled experience ensures that we are able to fully appreciate and understand what’s involved and can therefore design and deliver real added value solutions.”

The Pyeroy Group is based in Gateshead and employs 1150 people working on industrial, construction and marine projects throughout the UK and Ireland.

The company provides a range of industrial services, which comprise contract scaffolding and equipment hire, surface preparation and application of marine/industrial protective coatings, insulation, civil engineering / building works and environmental management services such as asbestos removal.

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