VERONA – Motorists traveling across the Waldo-Hancock Bridge can expect to see daytime lane closures beginning next week as crews begin to replace the suspender cables on the bridge.

The crew from Piasecki Steel Co., the contractor on the project, expects to close one lane of the bridge twice a day for 25 to 45 minutes each time, according to Carol Morris of Garrand and Co., a spokesperson for the Maine Department of Transportation. There will be a few minutes during each closure when both lanes of the bridge will be closed to traffic as crews position their trucks on the bridge.

The cable work is part of a multiyear, $26 million rehabilitation project on the bridge.

During the initial phase of the cable project this summer, lane closures occurred at scheduled times during the evening hours, creating few traffic delays, according to Dave Milan, Bucksport’s economic development director and chairman of the local public advisory committee for the project.

“We haven’t had any complaints about delays,” Milan said Tuesday.

The plans now call for about 500 feet of one lane of the bridge to be closed at a time. Flaggers will signal alternating lanes of traffic through the area during the closure. Milan will meet weekly with the contractor and DOT representatives to monitor the effects of this change.

Meanwhile, continuing inspections of the suspender cables have uncovered more corrosion in the cables than originally expected.

DOT officials have assured the local committee that the bridge remains safe for travel, Milan said, but plan to stagger truck traffic crossing the bridge while the cables are being replaced. The department will post the bridge notifying truckers to stay a minimum of 500 feet apart while crossing the bridge.

The department also is looking for ways to slow motorists as they cross the bridge. During a recent meeting with DOT and community representatives, officials from Piasecki Steel registered concerns about speeders on the bridge.

The bridge is narrow, and has become narrower due to the construction, Milan said, and “even the posted limit of 25 mph is flying.”

State troopers have had speed details set up at the bridge, Milan said, and have stopped those who have been speeding. That’s effective, however, only when the troopers are there, he said.

Some options have included using the Bucksport Police Department’s speed board, which registers a vehicle’s speed so the driver can see how fast he or she is going. The department also may consider putting down rubber speed bumps along the bridge in an effort to slow the traffic.