A sandstone wall adjacent to the train line heading across the bridge from the north has transformed into a giant canvass for young taggers who want their crude artwork viewed by thousands of commuters every day.

A new fence installed recently has done little to deter the vandals who are crossing the tracks near Milsons Point Station and laying siege to the historic structure in the early morning hours.

The state government is installing a new set of security cameras in the area in the hope of catching and preventing hoodlums.

Keeping Our Bridge Looking Tip-Top

VIEW GALLERY

“When we’re cleaning this graffiti off, we’re not painting. What’s better for Australia?,” said asset manager Peter Mann, who oversees maintenance of a range of pieces of Sydney infrastructure including the Sydney Harbour and Anzac bridges.

“It’s disappointing ... its been getting worse over the past year.”

Last week The Daily Telegraph was given an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of the Sydney Harbour Bridge nightshift — which is worked by dozens of workers as the city sleeps.

Operating on a budget of just under $20 million annually, the crew works tirelessly and around-the-clock to keep the country’s busiest roadway safe and easy on the eye. Financial constraints mean that graffiti cleaning leeches staff away from the most important job on the bridge — painting.

“It’s such a waste of time and money,” said Mr Mann.

The bridge requires 33,000 litres of special Dulux steel-protecting paint for a single coat. A number of rusty and shabby sections on the bridge have been spotted in recent months, made worse by the repeated graffiti attacks to the north of the bridge.

Jeff Morris is one of the devoted painters who has been working on the Sydney Harbour Bridge for 25 years, since he was just 15.

“It’s the best job in the world,” he said.

“What’s not to love — the views, the mateship ... we all work as a team.”

Crews have also been installing new LED lights along the bridge, replacing the old-fashion globe lights to reduce both glare to motorists and electricity costs.

High up on the bridge at night — where the sirens, screeches and engine grunts of the traffic below is just a distant hum — there is a beautiful serenity that the night workers boast of.

“It’s pretty special to work on such an icon,” said Massimo Gregorio.

“I don’t even think about the height now, but the first few times it was pretty scary.”

Peter Mann, standing at the pinnacle of Australia’s most famous structure, admits his favourite time to be on the Coat Hanger is when the harbour it services shuts its eyes.

“It’s very peaceful up here at night,” he said.

“You can barely hear a thing.”