01 June 2011
As work begins on renovating one of Jersey’s most iconic and recognisable landmarks, Corbière Lighthouse, contractors have chosen an unusual method of painting its exterior walls. Rather than erecting scaffolding, a team from Transport and Technical Services (TTS) will be abseiling down the outside of the building to paint the white walls.
At 135 feet above sea level and a tower height of 62 feet, the lighthouse has always proved a logistical challenge to the TTS maintenance team responsible for its upkeep. In the past, scaffolding has been put up around the entire lighthouse, but this time it will only go on the top of the building and the rest will be painted by the abseil team. The idea is to find out whether this is a more efficient way of painting and maintaining similar buildings in the future.
"Corbière Lighthouse is an extremely recognisable part of Jersey’s landscape and remains an important navigational point for mariners", said Commercial Director for Port of Jersey, Myra Shacklady. "It is therefore vital that the building is kept in good repair and maintained to ensure it remains highly visible at all times."
Assistant Manager for Site Services at TTS, Brenden McGinley, who is heading up the maintenance team, added "Corbière Lighthouse was last painted in 2002 and at that time scaffolding had to remain up, obscuring the lighthouse for a considerable amount of time. By using our skilled abseiling team, we will be able to reduce the costs. This method was successful last year when we repainted Platte Rock Beacon, at the end of the breakwater at Elizabeth Castle, so we are confident of similar results with this project."
£43,000 has been allocated for the project from the annual planned maintenance budget held by Port of Jersey. Weather permitting, the project is likely to take up to 8 weeks to complete.
gov.je