Maintenance
The first act of vandalism was committed in June 1968; the vandals etched their names on various parts of the arch. The 1968 expenditure for repairing damage from vandalism was $10,000. The arch was first targeted by graffiti artists on March 5, 1969, but the vandalism was easily removed. In 2010, signs of corrosion were reported at the upper regions of the stainless steel surface. Carbon steel in the north leg has been rusting, possibly a result of water accumulation, a side effect of leaky welds in an environment that often causes rain inside. Maintenance workers currently use mops and a temporary setup of water containers to mitigate the problem. According to NPS documents, the corrosion and rust pose no safety concerns.
In 2006, architectural specialists studied the corrosion on the arch and suggested additional examination. A 2010 Historic Structure Report was conducted and found that the corrosion required a more comprehensive study. In September 2010, the NPS granted Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc. a contract for a structural study that would "gather data about the condition of the Arch to enable experts to develop and implement the right long-term solutions."
Read more about this topic: Gateway Arch
Famous quotes containing the word maintenance:
“However patriarchal the world, at home the child knows that his mother is the source of all power. The hand that rocks the cradle rules his world. . . . The son never forgets that he owes his life to his mother, not just the creation of it but the maintenance of it, and that he owes her a debt he cannot conceivably repay, but which she may call in at any time.”
—Frank Pittman (20th century)
“War is in truth a disease in which the juices that serve health and maintenance are used for the sole purpose of nourishing something foreign, something at odds with nature.”
—Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe (1749–1832)
“My course is a firm assertion and maintenance of the rights of the colored people of the South according to the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments, coupled with a readiness to recognize all Southern people, without regard to past political conduct, who will now go with me heartily and in good faith in support of these principles.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)