The last stages of the refurbishment project undertaken for the City of London Corporation - the repainting of the bascule balustrades and underside structure - finished at the end of March and the bridge is now back in full operational mode and open to river traffic.
Industrial services specialist Pyeroy won the multi-million pound contract after the Corporation decided to refurbish the landmark London structure ahead of the 2012 Olympic Games.
Repainting the bridge will extend its life expectancy for another 25 years and was essential to protect the steelwork and preserve the bridge for future generations, said the company.
More than 1,500 tonnes of expendable abrasive were used to blast the structural sections back to their bare metal framework before 22,000 litres of paint was applied to provide six protective layers.
The bridge has been repainted in the red, white and blue colour scheme originally prepared for the Queen’s 1977 Silver Jubilee celebrations while 40,000 motorists and pedestrians continued to cross it every day.
During the latter stages of the work, specialist abseilers were used to install temporary access gantries to enable the repainting of the two high level walkways to be undertaken.
