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Like many an aging beauty, the Queensboro Bridge is getting a facelift.
Distinctive white cocoons have sprouted over the century-old span's steel arches. And the hum of power tools now mingles with the roar of passing traffic.
It's all part of a major rehabilitation of the city-owned bridge over the East River, expected to cost about $200 million and end in late 2008.
Distinctive white tents allow workers to blast away lead-based paint without releasing the toxic chemical into the air. After the paint is removed from the bridge's 5.5 million square feet of steel, it will be replaced with three layers of a lead-free coat. Elsewhere, crews are tackling a series of minor projects on the bridge, which measures about 1 1/2 mile: building a fence along the pedestrian walkway, replacing...