Editing Sydney Harbour Bridge (section)

===Maintenance===
[[File:Sydney Harbour Bridge maintenance, 18 September 1945.jpg|thumb|Maintenance worker Stan Giddings painting the bridge, 1945.]]
The Sydney Harbour Bridge requires constant inspections and other maintenance work to keep it safe for the public, and to protect from [[corrosion]]. Among the trades employed on the bridge are [[House painter and decorator|painter]]s, [[ironworker]]s, [[boilermaker]]s, [[machinist|fitter]]s, [[electrician]]s, [[plasterer]]s, [[carpenter]]s, [[plumber]]s, and [[Rigger (industry)|riggers]].<ref name=repaint-rta />

The most noticeable maintenance work on the bridge involves painting. The steelwork of the bridge that needs to be painted is a combined {{convert|485000|m2|acre|abbr=on}}, the equivalent of sixty football fields. Each coat on the bridge requires some {{convert|30000|L|impgal|abbr=on}} of paint.<ref name=repaint-rta /> A special fast-drying paint is used, so that any paint drops have dried before reaching the vehicles or bridge surface.<ref name=tia-shb /> One notable identity from previous bridge-painting crews is Australian comedian and actor [[Paul Hogan]], who worked as a bridge rigger before rising to media fame in the 1970s.<ref name="culture.gov" />

In 2003 the Roads & Traffic Authority began completely repainting the southern approach spans of the bridge. This involved removing the old [[Lead paint|lead-based paint]], and repainting the {{convert|90000|m2|acre|abbr=on}} of steel below the deck. Workers operated from self-contained platforms below the deck, with each platform having an air extraction system to [[Air filter|filter]] [[airborne particles]]. An [[abrasive blasting]] was used, with the lead waste collected and safely removed from the site for disposal.<ref name=repaint-rta />

Between December 2006 and March 2010 the bridge was subject to works designed to ensure its longevity. The work included some strengthening.<ref name=shb-upgrade>{{cite web|url=http://www.freyssinet.com.au/images/job-sheets/Sydney%20Harbour%20Bridge%20Upgrade.pdf|access-date=16 September 2014|title=Sydney Harbour Bridge Upgrade|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904021220/http://www.freyssinet.com.au/images/job-sheets/Sydney%20Harbour%20Bridge%20Upgrade.pdf|archive-date=4 September 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

Since 2013, two grit-blasting robots specially developed with the [[University of Technology, Sydney]] have been employed to help with the paint stripping operation on the bridge.<ref>{{cite web |author=Wendy Frew |url=http://www.smh.com.au/technology/sci-tech/spick-and-span-20130717-2q1av.html |title=Spick and span |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=18 July 2013 |access-date=9 June 2014 |archive-date=24 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230924100444/https://www.smh.com.au/technology/spick-and-span-20130716-2q1av.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The robots, nicknamed Rosie and Sandy,<ref>{{cite web |last=Bryant |first=Chris |url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/7d398f90-ec8e-11e3-8963-00144feabdc0.html#slide0 |title=Dawn of a robot revolution as army of machines escape the factory |work=[[Financial Times]]|date=5 June 2014 |access-date=9 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140608215640/http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/7d398f90-ec8e-11e3-8963-00144feabdc0.html#slide0 |archive-date=8 June 2014 |url-status=live  }}</ref> are intended to reduce workers' potential exposure to dangerous lead paint and [[asbestos]] and the blasting equipment which has enough force to cut through clothes and skin.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-23352958 |title=Grit-blasting robots clean Sydney Harbour Bridge |publisher=bbc.co.uk |date=18 July 2013 |access-date=9 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140106185621/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-23352958 |archive-date=6 January 2014 |url-status=live  }}</ref>

<gallery mode="packed-hover" heights="200px">
File:Painting Sydney Harbour Bridge 1945 04.jpg|Stan Giddings, maintenance worker painting Sydney Harbour Bridge, 1945, by Alec Iverson
File:Sydney Harbour Bridge DSC01595.JPG|Maintenance crew painting the bridge
File:SydneyHarbourBridgeHangers.jpg|Bridge arch after strengthening, with some new steel outlined in red
</gallery>