VERONA—For almost 70 years, the Waldo-Hancock Bridge has carried travelers across the Penobscot River. The bridge provided a quick and easy way to get from one county to another. Now, the Department of Transportation says that crossing might not be so easy, at least not for about six years.

The DOT plans to rehabilitate the 2,040-foot suspension bridge.

DOT representatives discussed the rehabilitation Monday at the Jewett School in Bucksport. The main concern of residents was the project’s duration and the traffic implications of lane closures.

"I’m very concerned about the economic impact," said State Representative Joe Brooks, D-Winterport. "I hate to hell to think that this is going to be a six-year project."

Those familiar with the economic impact the Main Street construction has had this spring on Ellsworth’s downtown businesses would recognize the issues raised at the Bucksport meeting.

Business owners, predicting dire economic consequences, questioned the length of the proposed four-part rehab plan for the landmark suspension bridge.

"It doesn’t make a great deal of sense to extend the project for as long a period as you’re talking about," said Bucksport Town Manager Roger Raymond.

The proposal calls for an initial foundation rehabilitation stage that should not affect traffic. Most of the work for this stage would occur this summer. It focuses on cleaning and repointing tower piers and repairing the foundation.

The next three contracts would affect traffic. Maine DOT Program Manager Norman Baker explained that the second contract for work on the cable suspension system requires partial lane closures. That estimated $5.9 million contract would begin in early fall 2000, and end in fall 2002.

Baker guessed that the third contract, for replacing the roadway deck would occur from 2003 to 2004, and the final contract for painting the bridge would begin in 2005 and end in 2006.

Workers, from platforms above the bridge deck, will repair cables on 240-foot towers. Sections of lanes will be closed while contractors bring in equipment during the cable rehabilitation phase. When deck work occurs, large sections of the roadway will close.

Baker said the plan could extend to eight years.

"If traffic is held up for a long time—I mean eight years—I might as well go to work for you," said Sail Inn Restaurant owner Paul Dyer. "Who is going to come and eat at my restaurant or go to her camp?"

Dyer’s restaurant is on the Prospect side of the bridge. The camp he refers to is the Flying Dutchman Campground, just over the bridge in Verona.

Both businesses rely heavily on seasonal income. The possibility that construction could extend multiple summers with standstill traffic outside their doors frightens them.

"I’m desperate," said Flying Dutchman owner Jacqueline Gray. "I don’t have a lot of choices. This is all we have—just this summer."

Linda Plourde of the Bucksport Bay Area Chamber of Commerce said the economic impact on the entire area is major, noting the bridge is a part of the Acadia Highway. The nearest detour for people coming into Hancock County from Waldo County is 20 miles away in Brewer.

Baker said he would research a water taxi or other shuttling system for workers, school children and shoppers trying to reach Hancock County from Waldo County.

Representative Brooks suggested simultaneous contracts, or not working during the peak tourist months of July and August.

Because of the materials used, construction can only occur if the temperature is above 40 degrees Farenheit. Baker said the DOT would investigate the possibility of halting traffic-clogging construction in the summer months, but doubted the feasibility of simultaneously working on the road deck and the cables.

After a 1988 inspection, the New York-based Parsons Transportation Group found that the bridge could be rehabilitated despite water corrosion in the main cables, and a sag in the bridge deck.

Frank J. Mondello, project manager for the group said, "None of the deterioration is life-threatening."

A conservative figure to build a new bridge is $36 million. Because the bridge is a landmark on the Maine coast and of historic value, the DOT opted for rehabilitation of the existing structure. The estimated cost of the project is $20.2 million.

"We have a strong interest in maintaining this bridge for an extended life," Baker said.

Representatives of businesses and town governments voiced their desire to have the bridge lighted.

"If you light that bridge first you’re going to have a lot happier people," said Sid Block of Bucksport.

Bicyclists said they would be happier if the DOT would do something about bike safety. Jeff Miller of the Bicycle Coalition of Maine suggested a flashing warning light when biker riders were on the bridge. He also suggested a suspended bike/pedestrian deck on the bridge’s side.

"This bridge is an absolutely beautiful, gorgeous, historic structure but downright deadly to bicyclists," Miller said.

Baker agreed, "There is going to be a fatality there soon."

The problem is the bridge’s narrowness and slope impair sightlines and do not allow much room for error. The bridge is 22½ feet wide. A truck, not counting side mirrors, is 8 feet wide. Baker said it did not leave much room for clearance.

Miller said the bridge is part of a biking corridor extending from Seattle to Bar Harbor. He said 1,000 cyclists annually bike the bridge on the cross-country trip.