By Kevin H. Keith, PE, JMT, Inc. and David M. Hatherill, PE, Corcon, Inc.

The Delaware River Port Authority let their largest painting contract ever, over $57,000,000 to blast and paint the entire suspension span of the Walt Whitman Bridge including the complete interior and exterior of the towers, deck support steel in the anchorages, suspension cables and various steel repairs. This article describes the painting project itself, the skills required for the construction and engineering teams, unadvertised skills such as dealing with the nesting Peregrine falcons and the complexities of traffic control of 120,000 vehicles each day....