The replacement for Maine’s aging Waldo-Hancock Bridge will be named the Downeast Gateway Bridge to reflect the span’s location at the entrance to the Down East region of the state.
The name was announced Friday following months of deliberation during which hundreds of suggestions ranging from silly to serious were submitted.
“The Downeast Gateway Bridge is the greatest piece of civil engineering in the state’s history, and the proposed name reflects the significance of the bridge to the entire state and acknowledges that the bridge belongs to all Mainers,” said Sen. Richard Rosen, R-Bucksport.
The name suggestions included “The Wicked Good Bridge,” “The Big Scary Bridge” and “The Prosperona Bridge,” for the towns of Prospect and Verona Island that are on opposite ends of the span.
The group Friends of Fort Knox suggested it be called “The Fort Knox Bridge,” while other recommendations included “Penobscot Narrows” and simply “The Waldo-Hancock.”
The suggestions were reviewed by a regional committee and divided into four broad categories: people, geographic references, historical references and physical characteristics of the bridge. Historians and architectural experts were consulted before the committee made its decision.
The bridge will be named officially with a bill submitted to the Legislature by Rosen, Sen. Carol Weston, R-Montville, and Rep. Kenneth Lindell, R-Frankfort.
The Waldo-Hancock Bridge was a toll bridge when it opened in 1931 after being built for $846,000. With its 206-foot high towers and graceful lines, it served as a landmark for those traveling U.S. Route 1 into eastern Maine.
In the summer of 2003, problems on the two suspension cables came to light while the bridge was being restored.
Engineers later determined that building a new bridge was the only long-term solution.
The new structure is a cable-stayed bridge with two towers rising from the banks of the Penobscot River and a roadway held up by steel cables. It will feature a 420-foot glass-enclosed observation tower with commanding 360-degree views of Fort Knox, the Penobscot River and surrounding towns.
The $84 million structure will open to vehicular traffic by the end of the year, according to the Department of Transportation. The span and the observation deck will be opened to the pedestrians in the fall.
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