Features / clifton suspension bridge
The Clifton Suspension Bridge as you have never seen it before
As cars and pedestrians continued their journey across the Clifton Suspension Bridge, Sam Bailey was working high above them with a paintbrush in hand.
Perched securely within a ‘painting pod’ on scaffolding about three-quarters of the way up the Leigh Woods side of the span, Sam painted primer on one of the bridge’s chain links on a recent morning.
There are 4,200 of these iron chains and each one has to be painted by hand three times. It’s an enormous task and one that only happens every 20 to 25 years.
is needed now More than ever
Sam, who lives in Frenchay, has just finished work on the roof of Temple Meads, going from one of Brunel’s most famous Bristol structures to another.
“If there were two places that I would’ve loved to have painted as a Bristolian it’s these two,” Sam said as he walked down the scaffolding for his lunch break back on ground level.
Sam Bailey and his colleagues need to apply three coats of paint by hand to more than 4,000 chains on the Clifton Suspension Bridge – photo: Martin Booth
Painting is not the only thing happening right now on the bridge as part of the multi-million pound refurbishment project which has been entirely funded through the collection of bridge tolls.
A team from engineering contractor Taziker is installing new timber handrails on both of the bridge’s walkways, working in and around both towers, underneath the bridge deck, and in all four anchorage pits, with a new lighting system also being put in place.
Because of the bridge’s location above the tidal River Avon, it is officially within a “marine environment” with part of the painting job protecting the ironwork from rust caused by corrosion from the salt in the air.
The work started in May 2024 and is due to finish in February 2026, ensuring that the Clifton Suspension Bridge remains shipshape and Bristol fashion.
The anti-climb barrier on the city centre side of the bridge has been removed as new timber handrails are installed – photo: Martin Booth
Before walking up the scaffolding around the chains on the Leigh Woods to one of the painting pods, bridgemaster Trish Johnson explained that the current £8m refurbishment project is the biggest ever undertaken on the bridge in terms of value.
“What we wouldn’t want to do is close the bridge for six months completely and paint it that way, and also we need the revenue from the traffic as we don’t get any money from any local authority or central government,” Trish told Bristol24/7.
“We’re a private bridge so we need the traffic to come across as the tolls fund this project.”
Trish added: “The Clifton Suspension Bridge is the icon of Bristol. To be able to be involved in it, I still feel that excitement and to be up that high where we’re going today you get to see the bridge and the area from a very unique position.”
Trish Johnson is the first woman to be appointed as bridgemaster of the Clifton Suspension Bridge and has looked after the bridge since 2016 – photo: Martin Booth
Walking up next to the chains is not for the faint-hearted but was an invitation Bristol24/7 could not turn down as the next opportunity to do something like this might not be until 2050.
One element of the bridge that came into sharp view when almost at its top was the Latin motto carved into one of the towers: ‘suspensa vix via fit” which can be translated to ‘a suspended way made with difficulty’ or ‘the road is barely suspended’.
For Taziker project manager Jon Turton, 161 years after the bridge was opened, the major refurbishment that he is overseeing is not so much difficult but a complicated task which must be carried out methodically.
Jon called the refurbishment “a simple job with complex access issue”, adding: “This is an amazing structure and I’m really pleased to say that I have worked on it.”
Not a bad view from the office for Taziker project manager Jon Turton – photo: Martin Booth
Main photo: Martin Booth
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