Just a couple of coats of Rust-Oleum should do the trick...
Sticking their head in the sand?
-RBB
Full StorySt. Louis (KSDK) -- A study will soon get underway on how to preserve St. Louis' most recognized landmark.
The National Park Service awarded a contract for a structural study on the Gateway Arch to Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc. (WJE), a structural engineering firm specializing in the diagnostics of monumental and complex structures.
The study is part of the ongoing regular maintenance, inspection and preservation process at the Gateway Arch.
"The National Park Service considers it our highest priority to preserve our national treasure - the Gateway Arch - and to ensure the safety and enjoyment of our visitors," said Tom Bradley, superintendent, Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, which includes the Gateway Arch. "In addition to our regular plan for maintenance and inspection, we are taking proactive steps to understand the long-term maintenance needs of the Arch."
Review of the Arch's long-term maintenance requirements began in 2006 when architectural and engineering experts completed a preliminary study on staining and corrosion that had become evident.
-RBB
In actuality, the Arch is NOT a national monument.Moorlander wrote:The arch is an national monument. It's not going anywhere. It will be repaired no matter what the cost.Downtown2007 wrote:
It would be a shame to have a nice new riverfront and no Arch.
I was just surprised to discover that it wasn't considered a national monument. Call it whatever you'd like, it's still pretty damn important.Moorlander wrote:It's a national 'memorial' How does that change anything?
- 11K
In many ways, National Memorials are more protected/valued than National Monuments.
Drones? Lasers? New study suggests ways park service could clean Gateway Arch
https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/dro ... op-story-1
https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/dro ... op-story-1
The park service investigated Arch corrosion more than a decade ago and finished a report in 2006 on the issue. But in 2015, after further study — and testing that featured people rappelling down sides of the Arch for the first time in its history, in order to gather samples — park officials said it was "not feasible" to pursue a full cleaning of the structure.
By 2018, however, several outside organizations, including the Los Angeles art preservation nonprofit the Getty Foundation and the Springfield, Illinois-based Association for Preservation Technology, had started their own investigation into conserving the Arch. The agencies finished their report last August. Arch officials got copies in December and held a video conference on the findings in February.
At the ground level, things like de-icing salt have caused “superficial corrosion,” the report says. Higher up, studies have pointed to atmospheric pollutants tarnishing the upper reaches of the Arch. And “many of the visual anomalies” are marks left from the monument’s original construction, in which cranes and machinery had to climb the structure and anchor to it while work progressed.
Perspiration, body oils and graffiti — especially harmful when etched into the stainless steel — pose the risk of serious damage “if left unchecked,” the report states.
...the company came away with the sense that there’s not great urgency to address the monument’s corrosion challenges, and suggested that the park service even could be willing to wait years for technological improvements to present solutions through lasers, robotics or other advancements. And while there’s a desire to combat “premature aging” of the Arch, Cheng said some parties are reluctant to reverse the Arch's natural weathering. Those individuals “want to keep it as organic as possible,” she said. “That’s the impression we got.”
The report notes, however, that corrosion issues could worsen over time or with drastic atmospheric changes.
Despite the forces at play on the Arch, Sanfilippo says, “it’s still amazing how reflective it is.”