LB2012.17.673

LB2012.17.673

View of the Waldo-Hancock bridge which spans the Penobscot River between Prospect, Maine (left) and Verona Island, Maine (right). Bucksport is partially in view in the distance. Waldo-Hancock Bridge Formerly listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places Location US Rt. 1, Verona, Maine Built 1931 Architect Robinson & Steinman Crosses Penobscot River Locale Bucksport, Maine, (Hancock County, Maine) Official name Waldo-Hancock Bridge Maintained by Maine Department of Transportation Characteristics Design Suspension bridge Total length 2,040 ft Width 20 ft roadway with Two 3 1/2 ft sidewalks Height 236 ft Longest span 800 ft Clearance below 135 ft History Construction start 1929 Construction end 1931 Opened November 16, 1931 Closed December 30, 2006 (Demolished 2013) Statistics Toll 1931-1953 The Waldo-Hancock Bridge was the first long-span suspension bridge erected in Maine, as well as the first permanent bridge across the Penobscot River below Bangor. The name comes from connecting Waldo and Hancock counties. The bridge was retired in 2006, when the new Penobscot Narrows Bridge was opened just a few yards away, and it was demolished in 2013. The bridge was 2,040 feet long with a clear center span of 800 feet between towers. It had two 350-foot side spans and carries a 20-foot wide roadway with two 3 1?2-foot sidewalks. It used stiffening trusses that are 9 feet deep. Each of the main suspender cables were 9 5?8 inches in diameter, and consisted of 37 strands of 37 wires. The deck was 135 feet above water level to allow passage of large ships. The total cost of the span was less than $850,000 in 1931 dollars (about $12 million in 2010 dollars), significantly under its allocated budget. Construction David B. Steinman, of Robinson and Steinman, was the designer. The bridge was fabricated by American Bridge Company (superstructure) and Merritt-Chapman & Scott (substructure). Technologically, the Waldo-Hancock Bridge represented a number of firsts. It was one of the first two bridges in the U.S. (along with the St. Johns Bridge in Portland, Oregon, completed in June, 1931) to employ Robinson and Steinman's pre-stressed twisted wire strand cables, which were first used on the 1929 Grand MFre Suspension Bridge over the Saint-Maurice River in Quebec. The prefabrication and pre-stressing of the cables decreased the number of field adjustments required, saving considerable time, effort, and money. As an additional experiment in efficiency, the Waldo-Hancock cables were marked prior to construction, ensuring proper setting. This method had never been used before and proved successful in this instance. These innovations, invented and pioneered by Steinman, were a significant step forward for builders of suspension bridges. The Waldo-Hancock was also the first bridge to make use of the Vierendeel truss in its two towers, giving it an effect that Steinman called "artistic, emphasizing horizontal and vertical lines." This attractive and effective truss design was later used in a number of important bridges, including the Triborough Bridge and Golden Gate Bridge. The Waldo-Hancock Bridge was noted at the time for its economy of design and construction. It cost far less than had been appropriated by the State Highway Commission, which enabled the construction of a second bridge between Verona Island and Bucksport. When opened in 1931 the bridge collected tolls used to retire the bonds issued to finance its construction. All tolls were lifted twenty-two years later on October 31, 1953, however, when those original construction bonds were paid off. Original tolls ranged from 10ó for "one or two horse vehicle including driver" to 50ó for "auto truck or tractor over 26,000 pounds". Rehabilitation, replacement and abandonment As the bridge approached its seventieth anniversary with the end of the century, a series of routine safety inspections made by the Maine Department of Transportation revealed that over those seven decades the structure's two main suspension cables and the many vertical bridge deck stringers had become seriously corroded thereby deteriorating their ability to support the deck, roadway and the traffic that crossed it. These engineering studies made it clear that the bridge required immediate major rehabilitation and eventual replacement. A new construction, the Penobscot Narrows Bridge, was built alongside the older one. The new bridge was opened to traffic on December 30, 2006, at which point the Waldo-Hancock Bridge was ceremoniously closed. Barricades were erected at both ends, closing the bridge to both cars and pedestrians. Demolition The Maine Department of Transportation announced on February 14, 2012 that the Bridge would be demolished starting that summer and be completed by the fall. The schedule was designed to accommodate the needs of two endangered species, the Peregrine falcon and the Short nose sturgeon. Barges were placed in the Penobscot River onto which sections of the bridge were lowered. The concrete piers in the River are all that remains, and MDOT worked with the United States Coast Guard to design lights for them once the Bridge was removed to aid ships in the River. Later, Maine DOT announced that the low bid of $5.35 million by S&R Corp. of Lowell, Massachusetts was accepted. Demolition eventually was delayed until November 20, 2012 with the removal of the bridge's flag poles and was completed in June, 2013.