{{Infobox_Bridge |bridge_name=Waldo-Hancock Bridge |image=HAER_WaldoHancock_03_320292pv.jpg |official_name= |carries=[[U.S. Route 1]] |crosses=[[Penobscot River]] |locale=[[Bucksport, Maine]], ([[Hancock County, Maine]]) |maint=[[Maine Department of Transportation]] |id= (Bridge No. 2973) |design=[[Suspension bridge]] |mainspan=800 ft (244 m) |length=2040 ft (622 m) |width=20 ft (6 m) roadway with
2 3½ ft (1 m) sidewalks |clearance= | height = 72 m |below=135 ft (41 m) |open=[[November 16]], [[1931]] |lat=44.560692 |long=-68.801966}} [[Image:HAER_WaldoHancock_03_320291pv.jpg|thumb|245px|View from the west approach of the bridge looking east across the Penobscot River.]] 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, Maine|Bangor]]. The name comes from connecting [[Waldo County, Maine|Waldo]] and [[Hancock County, Maine|Hancock]] counties. The bridge is 2,040 feet (622 m) long with a clear [[Span (architecture)|center span]] of 800 feet (244 m) between towers. It has two 350 foot (107 m) side spans and carries a 20 foot (6 m) wide [[roadway]] with two 3-1/2 foot (1 m) [[sidewalk]]s. It uses stiffening [[truss]]es that are 9 feet (2.7 m) deep. Each of the main suspender [[cable]]s is 9-5/8 inches (24 cm) in diameter, and consists of 37 strands of 37 wires. The [[deck]] is 135 feet (41 m) above water level to allow passage of large ships. The total cost of the span was less than $850,000 in 1931 dollars, significantly under its allocated budget. ==Construction== [[David B. Steinman]], of [[David_B._Steinman#Robinson_.26_Steinman|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 represents 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 prestressed twisted wire strand cables, which were first used on the 1929 [[ Grand Mère Suspension Bridge]] over the [[Saint-Maurice River]] in Quebec. The prefabrication and prestressing 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 [[Truss#Vierendeel_truss|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]].{{cite web| last = Larson Farnham| first = Katherine| year = 1999| url = http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=hhdatapage&fileName=me/me0300/me0313/data/hhdatapage.db&recNum=1 | title = Waldo-Hancock Bridge| work = Historic American Engineering Record| pages = 1| publisher = Library of Congress| accessdate = May 1| accessyear = 2006}} 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. As part of [[U.S. Route 1]], it remains in active use today, over 70 years after its completion.{{cite web| last = Larson Farnham| first = Katherine| year = 1999| url = http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=hhdatapage&fileName=me/me0300/me0313/data/hhdatapage.db&recNum=1 | title = Waldo-Hancock Bridge| work = Historic American Engineering Record| pages = 2| publisher = Library of Congress| accessdate = May 1| accessyear = 2006}} ==Rehabilitation and replacement== The bridge was opened as a toll bridge to retire the bonds issued to finance construction. Tolls were lifted on 31 October, 1953.{{cite web| url = http://www.waldohancockbridge.com/waldo-county-bridge/hisfacts.php| title = History| work = Waldo-Hancock Bridge Replacement Project| publisher =Maine Department of transportation| accessdate = May 1| accessyear = 2006}} Work was undertaken to rehabilitate the bridge starting in 2000{{cite web| url = http://en.structurae.de/structures/data/index.cfm?ID=s0001116| title = Waldo-Hancock Bridge| publisher = [[Structurae]]| accessdate = May 1| accessyear = 2006}} by Cianbro and Piasecki Steel Construction Corp. with cable work by Williamsport Wirerope Works Inc, by focusing on strengthening the cables. The two cables were done separately, one a time. Piasecki Steel Construction Corp., Castleton, N.Y., rehabilitated the north cable in 2002. At this point the bridge was determined to be too far gone{{cite web| url = http://www.bridgemeister.com/pic.php?pid=172 | title = Waldo-Hancock Suspension Bridge| publisher = Bridgemeister.com | accessdate = May 1 | accessyear =2006}} to be rehabilitated to modern load factors and standards and work shifted to temporary strengthening. For the south cable, MDOT in August 2003 hired Pittsfield, Maine-based Cianbro Corp. under a $4-million emergency contract (almost 5 times the original bridge’s nominal cost) with a very short completion time. The rehabilitation used a single wire thickness (2-inch (5.1 cm) diameter galvanized helical 91-wire strands.) to facilitate fabricating and installing the cables more quickly. New concrete anchorages with up to 30-foot (9.1 m) long anchor rods were built by Cianbro. Crews installed continuous runs of strands on new saddles bolted and welded on new base plates atop cable bents and the main towers. Workers placed two groups of four strands 12 feet (3.6 m) above each main cable to allow for pulls. Each strand weighs 4 tons (3.6 metric tons). A rope pull was walked across, connected to a 7/8-inch (2.2 cm) pull cable, then winched back across and connected to the strand, which was fed through a tensioner holding back about 15,000 pounds (6,803 kg) to smooth the pull. “We hooked and rehooked one strand per day on average,” says Archie J. Wheaton, Cianbro project superintendent. “The strands were connected to anchor rods; then we set the sag.” The new auxiliary cables are connected to existing double suspender cables by 1 1/8 inch (2.9 cm) steel rods, then tensioned with 30-ton (27.2 metric ton) jacks, bringing the new cables about 3 feet (0.9 m) from the main cables.{{cite web| last = Angelo| first = William J.| year = 2003| url = http://enr.construction.com/news/transportation/archives/031110a.asp| title = Maine Cables Get Extra Support in Rare Procedure| publisher = ENR.com Engineering News Record| accessdate =May 1| accessyear =2006}} Work has begun on a replacement—the [[Penobscot Narrows Bridge]]—which is being built alongside the older one.This [http://www.waldohancockbridge.com/waldo-county-bridge/slides/4_21.jpg image] is a spectacular overhead view of the roadway advancing on the new bridge from the Maine DOT site The new bridge is slated for completion in late 2006, after which the Waldo-Hancock Bridge will be closed. ==Further reading== The following sources referenced at the [[HAER]] site{{cite web| last = Larson Farnham| first = Katherine| year = 1999| url = http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=hhdatapage&fileName=me/me0300/me0313/data/hhdatapage.db&recNum=2 | title = Waldo-Hancock Bridge| work = Historic American Engineering Record| pages = 3| publisher = Library of Congress| accessdate = May 1| accessyear = 2006}} may be of value: *Jackson, Donald C. Great American Bridges and Dams. A National Trust guide. Great American Places Series. Washington, DC: The Preservation Press, 1988. *Jakkula, Ame A. “A History of Suspension Bridges in Bibliographical Form” Bulletin of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas. Fourth Series, Vol. 12, No. 7(1 July 1941), p. 327. *Plowden, David. Bridges: The Spans of North America. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1974; reprint, 1984. ==External links== *[http://en.structurae.de/structures/data/index.cfm?ID=s0001116] [[Structurae]].de entry. Major source of information used in article, although not directly cited. *[http://www.bridgemeister.com/pic.php?pid=20 entry] at [http://bridgemeister.com Bridgemeister.com] (includes builders plate) *[http://www.bridgemeister.com/pic.php?pid=172 entry] at [http://bridgemeister.com Bridgemeister.com] (includes distance shots) *[http://bridgepros.com/projects/Waldo-Hancock/index.htm entry] on reconstruction at [http://bridgepros.com BridgePros.com] *[http://enr.construction.com/news/transportation/archives/031110a.asp recabling project] from [[McGraw Hill]] [[Engineering News Record]] site (effort ended up being a temporary stopgap) *[http://www.waldohancockbridge.com/waldo-county-bridge/ replacement project] at Maine DOT site {{CoorHeader|44|33|38|N|68|48|7|W|type:landmark}} ==Notes== [[Category:Suspension bridges]] [[category:Bridges in Maine]] [[Category:Bridges completed in 1931]] [[Category:U.S. Route 1]]