VERONA ISLAND, Maine — The Waldo-Hancock Bridge that carried generations of motorists across the Penobscot River but now rusts in the shadow of its modern replacement finally has a date with the wrecking crew.
Initial work to remove the 81-year-old suspension bridge linking Verona Island and Prospect is expected to begin this summer, more than five years after the Penobscot Narrows Bridge opened to traffic, according to the Maine Department of Transportation.
But don’t expect the old span to come down with a big boom and a dramatic splash.
The $7.6 million removal project is expected to take nearly a year, with the bulk of the heavy-duty deconstruction occurring next fall and winter in order to minimize effects on endangered fish and birds that live and breed on or below the bridge.
“The plan we have is a salvage plan,” said Douglas Coombs, assistant project manager with the Maine DOT. “There will be cranes on barges in the water that will remove the superstructure of the bridge.”
State and local officials had hoped to remove the deteriorating bridge not long after the Penobscot Narrows Bridge and Observatory opened in late 2006. But securing the necessary authorizations and funding for the massive project took longer than anticipated.
When it opened in 1931, the Waldo-Hancock Bridge was the first permanent bridge across the Penobscot south of Bangor and replaced a ferry system for cars. But the 2,040-foot-long span was deteriorating to the point that, in 2003, state officials announced that the problems were beyond repair and a new bridge was needed.
Nearly a decade later, the old bridge is a rusting skeleton beside the iconic, $85 million Penobscot Narrows Bridge with its two, obelisk-like towers and angular system of cables. And from a tourism standpoint, the Waldo-Hancock bridge is in the line of sight of three popular stops for visitors: Fort Knox State Historic Site, the observatory 420 feet above the river in one of the new bridge’s towers and Bucksport’s downtown waterfront.
“Taking that old bridge down is going to make a big difference,” said Roger Raymond, town manager of Bucksport, which has developed a waterfront walking path overlooking the river and bridges that is popular with both local residents and tourists.
Coombs said the department plans to solicit bids for the project in mid-June with prep work beginning by mid-August or early September.
Work on the bridge itself cannot begin until Oct. 1, however, due to the presence of pairs of peregrine falcons and osprey that have chosen to nest on the old bridge. Peregrine falcons are an endangered species in Maine, so Oct. 1 was set as the start date in order to ensure that any peregrine chicks in the nest had time to develop and leave the nest.
Brad Allen, a bird biologist with the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, said biologists are still discussing options, including attempting to relocate the nest nearby. Osprey readily accept man-made platform nests, so one will likely be placed along the river in the area, Allen said.
“That gives us a whole nesting season to figure this out,” Allen said of the Oct. 1 start date.
Demolition crews also will have to wait until after Nov. 1 to bring in the barges to work on the bridge’s superstructure in order to avoid harming endangered shortnose sturgeon that move through that stretch of the river during the summer and fall.
Work on the superstructure is expected to continue through April 2013 with a goal of completing landscaping around the site of the former bridge by June 2013.
The old bridge footings, or piers, will not be removed, however, so the state is working with the U.S. Coast Guard to design navigational lights to alert boaters to the piers, which are located 700 feet apart.
The Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands also is developing plans to use the riverfront area now occupied by the old bridge.
Mike Leighton, regional manager for the bureau, said staff members hope to build new trails to and from Fort Knox, picnic areas and potentially a group shelter located on top of one of the large, concrete blocks that is part of the suspension bridge’s counterbalance system.
The federal government is paying 80 percent of the estimated $7.6 million bridge removal costs with the state chipping in the remaining 20 percent, Coombs said.
Feds to the rescue once again.
Thats why we have to adhere to so many rules and regulations, because its federal money . It also means whoever takes the job will have to spend much more on rules and regs and pay federal wages. The federal government can take a basic bird house and make it cost thousands of dollars !
Maybe we could hire Fred Sanford to do it for two hundred fifty dollars, then we could throw the rules and regs in the graveyard with the rest of the workers. Hey Rick, fred is looking for a good foreman.
There is a need for rules and regulations , just not in excess ! Everything is good in moderation ! But that would be taken money out of a few peoples pocket that benefit from that sort of thing im sure ! You can trace every problem in this country to GREED !
It is a somewhat expensive project because it is a very large and complicated project, and because of environmental impact and safety concerns, not to mention that this is 2012 and not 1930 and things are simply a tad more expensive and involved these days. I suppose you would be happier having the state, which you people always screech about being so broke and needing to “cut cut cut”, foot the entire bill. You right wingers drown yourselves in oceans of hypocrisy and contradictions. The feds are footing eighty percent of the bill. Most people are pleased with that and are pleased the project is moving forward. And here you are spouting TeaNut talking points just to whine and be contrary. But then again what is a right winger but a classic whiner.
“The feds are footing 80% of the bill”…and where do you suppose that money comes from? Trees? Peregrine falcon nests?
jbuck???? Come on, again!
Trees, if you are talking paper money.
Paper money is made of linen and cotton… No trees in money.. Just an fyi.
It comes from the Federal Highway Trust Fund. You pay into that fund every time you purchase gasoline.
That would be jbucks point from us the taxpayer !
Well, you should be paying, shouldn’t you? It is your bridge.
Exactly !
When you get help from the Federal Government there has and always will be strings attached, thats why this is such a costly project. If you dont know why new schools cost so much , its for the same reason, Federal Government wants to have each room to have so many square feet of air space so our kids dont breathe someone elses air ! The little white school houses were much cheaper because we used each others air and gave it back when we were done ! Do you understand the words that are coming out of my mouth, ive been in construction business for the last twelve years and i deal with this topic on a regular basis !
Maine is one of the poorest states in the country. The state cannot afford to build a new bridge. How many bridges in Maine were deemed “at risk of collapsing” over the last few years? Unless you want your mother, daughter or wife getting seriously hurt or dying in a bridge failure, thank Uncle Sam and stop being ignorant. Tax money is for infrastructure, not just invading other countries militarily.
David my point being the state is full of whiners and decryers of the awful federal govt. destroyer of american “Values” whatever that is these days but everybody bitches and takes the money.
Appropriately enough, bitching but taking the money is a traditional value in Maine.
That is because we have too much government , its pretty obvious to most people. And not everybody bitches and takes money ! If you look at a current pay stub you will see the federal government taking a pretty good chunk of your money, or maybe thats who you work for and then you will get it back when you retire !
Here is how the “professionals” do it. Quick and clean!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2nGtVURPlE&feature=related
And, what was the cost of toilet seats for the military about a decade ago? That was another farce of bureaucracy created by the federal bureaucrats. Over seven million to demolish a bridge is just a tad exorbitant. Our tax dollars being wasted is the new motto instead of our tax dollars at work.
Well it’s gonna cost $9 million to paint the Deer Island Bridge.
You could probably blow it up and let it fall in the river for $50,000. It sounds like they’re trying to be environmentally friendly and take it apart for scrap. There will probably be a huge sum of money recouped from the scrap value.
If you don’t like something that’s happening in your back yard, do something about it and vote, attend meetings, etc. Complaining ex post facto is useless.
My guess is that the wreckage might hamper river navigation.
I do vote. Unfortunately, in a republic those who represent their constituency do not always fulfill their promises. Too many who represent us become THEM once elected and forget to represent US.
You people complain when the US builds you a new much-needed bridge with tax money costing a few million bucks, but say nothing about when the US uses your tax money to pad defense contractors pockets and invade other countries for oil and lithium deposits ( a trillion dollars in your tax money). Get your priorities straight.
Probably because folks fail to see the connection you make. Anyone could insert any pet peeve in place of your “defense contractors pocket” and make the same argument.
Wow, alot of memories of that bridge. supposibly one of my uncles helped build it and when we crossed we always hoped two trucks would pass nearby so it would sway a little. Guess it served it’s purpose and it is better off being salvaged than just rusting there.
glad to see they actually listed this as being in VERONA, and NOT Bucksport. And I really don’t know why Roger Raymond cares,, he’s the BUCKSPORT town manager, NOT Verona’s. Oh yeah, Bucksport has ALL the say on this bridge, Verona and Prospect can’t have an opinion, but WE pay the damn taxes!
What’s good for the bridge is good for Bucksport. I see your point, but if you can’t understand that I think we’re done here.
jbuck???? Come on!
Not sure what you meant by that. Rough analogy–Mount Katahdin isn’t IN Millinocket, but you get a nice view of it from there. As to your comment about property taxes in Bucksport—they could be a LOT higher. Check the tax rates on other towns.
I agree, I used to live on Verona and everytime they had a story about the new bridge they would say it was in Bucksport, Bucksport being a another bridge away. lol
I have an idea….why dont we remove all 3 bridges and you can just stay on your precious island!! If you’d support your own “islanders” the open and closed again restaraunt at the end of the bridge might actually stay open for more than 6 months!!!
it used to be like that. they used a ferry. as far as that restaurant,,, well.. they need someone in there that knows what they’re doing before it’s going to make it. And by the way, this island IS precious…thanks!
WOW, We used to drive over that thing?
Could the old bridge be made into a foot bridge? It would compliment the lookout tower and the fort with a little face lift…..I can see the tourists enjoying that. Just a thought for all.
I thought the same thing and someone told me that they think more people would jump off of it if they did that. Im sorry if that is a reason thats dumb you can still jump off the other bridge just as easy! Besides the new bridge does not have sidewalks (which I find really stupid) so now people that do walk across us motorists have to move over for them. I just thought it was a great suggestion
Why would you have to move over to accommodate pedestrians? There’s a wide lane specifically for them, with a solid white line.
the bridge would then need to be maintained and would probably require millions of dollars of structural work.
Not so Jack! Think about this, the bridge load was engineered to hold two lanes of traffic including multiple commercial vehicles, rest assured that the structure will NOT need “millions of dollars of structural work” to handle cyclist and pedestrian traffic. Why not use the funds set aside for demolition, the superstructure can be painted and maintained for many years to come with these funds and possibly the decks could be improved with beautiful green spaces and rest areas.
For example: The bridge between Louisville, Kentucky and Jefferson, Indiana was preserved this way and has become a community asset inviting tourists and locals alike to spend and hour or two sitting mid river and enjoying the view. This is a popular preservation project despite the fact that the structure is missing the last span on the Indiana side. Lately Indiana state and the community of Jefferson have come to realize the value and will spend millions to rebuild the missing span. Meanwhile in Maine, we will spend millions to rip it down. SHAME.
By the way BDN awesome photo of the two structures.
I agree, agree completely. In theory yours is the best idea. However, there are competing interests, all with political pull and all interested in getting it torn down.
The state wants it torn down because leaving it there makes it a monument to the failed transportation policies of the late 1900’s – those policies of ignoring maintainence and ‘kicking the can down the road’ in terms of the cost of maintaining it. In the long run the cheaper solution would have been to inspect the cables periodically and remedy whatever was deteriortating. The sooner the state can get it torn down the sooner people will stop being reminded of that.
The Department of Tourism and the Town of Bucksport want it torn down because it’s an eyesore to them. Having two bridges, one nice shiny new one and one rusty old deteriorating one, is polluting the views up and down the river. Having that rusty old hulk there distracts from the views of Fort Knox, the observatory, and Bucksport’s waterfront.
At this point even getting it repainted would be a major capital outlay, and even if that got done there would still be two “competing” bridges side-by-side. So it’s coming down.
This was a beautiful old bridge that won awards for style and design in it’s day and would still be perfectly functional had it been maintained. Instead it was ignored until it has to be torn down.
Wasn’t there a song about that? “Take paradise, put up a parking lot”.
None of that makes sense.
Lets tear it down because “leaving it there makes it a monument to the failed transportation policies of the late 1900’s” OH that makes tons of sense (no pun intended.)
Then you say, “this was a beautiful old bridge that won awards for it’s style and design.”
YET! You say “The Department of Tourism and the town of Bucksport want it torn down because it’s an eyesore.”
An eyesore? You may want to look at the awesome BDN picture contrasting the old and the new.
Yes HeganMtn we are often shortsighted tearing down our history, “Take paradise and put up a parking lot.”
Apparently my cynicsm in paragraphs 2, 3, and 4 didn’t come through in print.
I wasn’t saying those were the reasons it SHOULD come down, rather I was stating the reasons it’s GOING TO come down. Ughhh.
Failed maintenance policies in the late 20th century?
The design of the main cables (1931 does not qualify as late 20th century) made it impossible for them to be repaired.
There was a MaineDOT maintenance crew that spent much, if not most, of its time working on that bridge.
Why don’t you just say that you have an axe to grind with MaineDOT? That’s really your point, isn’t it?
You are talking to a failed politician. Give it up.
I don’t think Joni Mitchell had a bridge in mind when she wrote this song. Though I suppose one could stretch the metaphor a bit it is a looooooong stretch.
Cianbro hasnt finished making money on that site yet ! They will get that project im sure !
“in it’s day” (sic) is the key phrase. It had a 20-foot wide deck, for pity’s sake, and there was no practical way to widen it.
I don’t think you understand. Not only did the bridge have to support two lanes of traffic, it had to support itself. Even if you converted it to a pedestrian bridge, you still need to fix the cables. My father, a retired engineer for MDOT, said the state was lucky to get as much life out of the bridge as it did before the new bridge opened, because the wires were snapping all over the place.
Hunks of pavement were falling into the water. No kidding.
Of course the old bridge has to go, but I hope they really do come up with a considered plan for the birds that will be affected by this. When work was being done on the Deer Isle bridge, crews took down an active osprey nest and built a platform for the osprey right next to the truck with the huge noisy generator. Of course the osprey never went anywhere near it, but nested instead on a different tower and produced one chick. We’re happy to note that a nest is reappearing on the bridge. Platforms do not always work and to say that osprey “readily” accept them is only true if they are carefully placed.
Look, I like animals and birds as much as anybody, but why is virtually every project that needs to be done hamstrung by protecting a bird’s nest or two? Remember the Brunswick fiasco? It’s a good thing that 19th century railroad had no such limitations or we’d just be getting the railroad in this country now. Move the nest, but to delay or prohibit any project that needs to be done over a birds nest is, well… moronic.
I think you’ve been baited my friend.
For what it’s worth, this sounds like someone actually sat down and planned this out before ANY MONEY was sunk into this project (forgive me, it’s early and the coffee pot just went KAPUT ). Planning this out, given all of the competing interest’s, was a huge task. That someone sat down and actually did it, as opposed to the usual ‘do it on the fly’ method, shows that the Maine DOT (and NO, I am not their biggest fan up here in The County) is doing this right ‘by the numbers’ and making sure that this is done both safely and economicly. One would hope that, when it’s all done, that the DOT plans out the aftermath, with the IF&W folks, just as thoroughly. And the salvage value of the old bridge’s steel needs to be directed back into the DOT’s Maintenance Fund, not out on some ‘feel good’ project. Those days are l-o-n-g gone.
First it was our jobs going to China. Now it is our bridges.
I still miss the Sail-Inn Restaurant.
What a shame the DOT “had” to remove it for the project. I watched the project and think the state screwed these people over so badly. Then they had to sue to get a fair price. But it would be such a nice setting today if the DOT had thought a little more openly.
I think it safe to say here that all the problems related to this bridge can be traced directly back to EMMC’s handling of the unions, or something like that.
They better take it down fast. It would sure embarrass some State officials if the new bridge fell into the Penobscot before the old one.
The scary part Harry is the new bridge has a few features never tried before this one! The gas that supposedly was in the cable tubes to preserve them has already escaped due to poor sealing design !
It will be good to see that eye sore gone !
Anyone remember the movie “Hunt for red October”? The closing scene was the sub going up “somewhere in the Penobscot river”. Well I found the facts from those friendly folks at Verona Island Pool and Spa ……..the Red October was actually placed under the green bridge so the Russians couldn’t see it via spy satellite, but was later moved when a sub pen was created under Fort Knox…………now we know where all those ghost story sounds are really coming from…..and the nuclear powered turbine actually powers the Bucksport Mill……the steam vents out the mills “smokestack”. You won’t even see this in a Bugsport cartoon! But it’s all TRUE I Tell ya!
If I remember correctly, the film had the sub stealing away to Searsport in Penobscot Bay, not up the Penobscot River.
Maybe it was Stockton Springs!
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099810/synopsis
Penobscot River, North of Searsport, Maine
Ramius, Ryan, Mancuso and Melekhin stand on the Bridge of the Red October remeniscing about the past and future and hide the Red October in the Penobscot River, 100 miles from the nearest base. It was in an area that Ryan grew up. Ramius queries Ryan on why he didn’t ask why this happened. Ramius intended to take away a first-strike weapon from the Soviets.
Ryan flies back to London, having bought Stanley’s brother and sleeps peacefully despite the turbulence.Page last updated by master_son99, 7 months ago Subject: [bdn] Re: Demolition of 86-year-old Penobscot River bridge to begin this fall
Hey Gov LePage–
Why dont you appove of putting a toll on the bridge? Check their plates…Maine plates cross for free and out-of-staters pay $1
If they can afford to drive up from wher ever they’re from, and spend a few nights or so in Bar Harbor… they surely can afford a buck.
I’d put another one at the Rte 3 off ramp so they cant just run up I95 to Bangor…
Look at that…budget deficit looking better and better
It is just illegal, and sure, bigoted, too.
Actually it is NOT illegal. New Hampshire did it on the Everett turnpike for years. I also think it is a good idea. You ought look up the meaning of the word “bigoted” maybe you meant discriminatory.
Bigot: someone who tells other to look it up.
I’m sorry, I thought I was conversing with someone who lived in the USA and spoke English. My bad.
No, they assigned the B team to your case.
Even then, you bore them.
Kevin Miller, writer of the article…. It talks of an “86 year old bridge” coming down….. now, alas, there are those among us who remember the comings and goings of this bridge…. in it’s entirety, and we are not 86 years old yet! sooo, you maybe wanna calculate that a bit…. opened in 1931 and still standing….. that makes it 80 years according my calculator and alas, I ain’t dead yet!! Hooray for a beautiful bridge and long may it stand but along side the “new” bridge??? ….. it may be the latest in bridges but beauty in comparison with what it replaced it’s a dead loser, in my estimation. I really wish there was a way to preserve the beauty of the soon to be dismantled suspension bridge but that is not in the cards….. like the old Bangor Railroad Station….. a thing of reflective beauty forever in my memory…. it had to go to make room for another Ace Hardware Store……….
Easy there. The mission of Friends of Fort Knox is to preserve/restore Fort Knox and enhance its educational, cultural and economic value for the people of Maine.” FOFK has nothing to do with the demolition of the bridge.
Perhaps Leon doesn’t like the view of the old bridge. From the count of current and former public servants in the FOFK I’d say the organization was looked upon as a stepping stone for political wanna-be’s that have visions of grandeur. Just saying.
I am disappointed to see that my other comment has been censored. I guess the FOFK and Roger Raymond cannot tolerate any kind of criticism and those political connections I spoke of extend to the BDN.
Again, to clarify, Friends of Fort Knox has nothing to do with the demolition of the bridge. Your experience has obviously been different, but that has not been my experience with FOFK. In FOFK, I see a variety of people who care for and have been gradually restoring one of the best preserved forts in the nation by leveraging both private and public sector support.
Why ?would make a great access across the river for atv’s and snowmobiles ,but that would make money, not spend it right ?
this will be right up Reed ,and rawhide, Reed’s alley