MAINTENANCE
As mentioned in the introduction, the New River Gorge Bridge is constructed of
un-painted
U.S.S. Cor-ten steel. This steel is designed to develop a coating of rust which
will prevent corrosion throughout the life of the steel. This concept worked
pretty well for the bridge except for a few areas on the structure. In areas where water sits for long periods of time
and where large amounts of water flow,
some deterioration occurred due to the temperate climate of the West Virginia
Mountains, and the salting of the roads by the West Virginia Department of
Highways.
For the first few years of the bridge's existence, the West Virginia
Department of Highways applied a standard practice of salt spreading to the
bridge's road surface during periods of accumulating snowfall. 
Unfortunately,
the Department of Highways did not take into account that salt deteriorates
steel and therefore, the years of salt spreading on the bridge caused
substantial damage to the bridge's structural steel. Fortunately, the Department
of Highways realized that this deterioration was occurring and started using
deicers that were not salt based to melt the snow that fell on the bridge
. This
method of melting the snow has prevented further deterioration, but the bridge's
steel needs to be cleaned from the previous years of salting.
In January of 1998, Specialty Groups,
Inc. was awarded a two million nine hundred thousand dollar contract
to clean up the steel on the New River Gorge Bridge. Specialty Groups Inc
has agreed to remove the salts from the bridge as well as repair other problem
spots on the bridge. Other repairs include removing a large number bird
nests throughout the interior supports and caulking areas such as deck trusses,
bent caps, and bent leg splices in order to prevent water damage and leakage.
In order to carry out the contract, Specialty Groups, Inc.
will use two main cleaning
methods. The first process of cleaning is a low pressure water cleaning. For
this method, a 3,000 to 4,500 psi pressure washer will be used to clean all the steel
surfaces on the bridge including the interior beams on the arch and the bent
legs. In areas where an extreme amount of rust exists, an ultra high pressure
water jetting will be used. The water pressure used in this process operates at
45,000 psi. The photographs in this section show workers from Specialty
Groups Inc. performing these cleaning processes. After the rust is removed the state engineers will examine the
damaged areas to ensure that the structure still meets the National Association
of Corrosion Engineers and Steel Structures Painting Council specifications.
(Specialty Groups, Inc.)
Both photographs in this section were used with the permission of
Specialty Groups, Inc.
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