Stop and ask a tourist in southern Maine about the new weight limits on the Route 1 bridge over the Penobscot River and the most likely response will be: Huh?

In fact, people who cross into Maine by the Interstate 95 Piscataqua River Bridge at the New Hampshire line are not alerted to the weight limits on the Waldo-Hancock Bridge until they pass through the Maine Turnpike’s last tollbooth, more than 100 miles north, in Gardiner.

The only alert to travelers visible Wednesday was a temporary sign at mile marker 106 in Augusta. The sign was situated about a mile from the Route 3 exit to Belfast and Bar Harbor.

Two Bangor Daily News reporters drove a combined 700 miles Wednesday from their base in midcoast Maine to see and hear what tourists are seeing and hearing about the 72-year-old bridge, which carries Route 1 traffic between Waldo and Hancock counties.

One drove from Kittery north, all the way on the Maine Turnpike. The other drove from where I-95 breaks off from the Maine Turnpike just north of downtown Portland. The reporter then drove on Route 1 from Yarmouth north.

It appears that travelers who are more systematic in their route-making, such as recreational vehicle owners, are being informed of the 24,000-pound weight limit imposed on the bridge July 11 by the state Department of Transportation.

The limits were ordered after tests on the bridge’s cables indicated they had deteriorated over the years and that extreme weight-bearing loads would have to be restricted. Most of the vehicles affected by the closing are trucks, motor homes, and cars or trucks towing large camper trailers. Passenger cars and light trucks continue to have access.

But free agents – the thousands of car and minivan drivers who travel alone – seem unaware or unconcerned.

And tourists who ask information providers can find out about the limits.

The Augusta-area sign informs turnpike drivers that the “Route 1 Verona Bridge” is posted to vehicles of 12 tons gross weight. It advises those going to Bucksport and Route 1 to use Interstate 395 in Bangor. There are signs along the turnpike advising travelers to use either the Belfast or Bangor exits to reach Bar Harbor and Down East, but those signs are permanent and were posted long before the bridge weight limits were set.

A random sampling of people traveling the turnpike Wednesday revealed that none was aware of the posting. Some of those who were told they would have to detour 40 miles around the bridge to reach their destination accepted their fate with a shrug of the shoulders. Others said they were unconcerned about the posting.

Although many business owners in communities surrounding the bridge have voiced concerns about the economic impact of the weight restrictions, tourists interviewed Wednesday at turnpike rest stops and service plazas revealed that nearly all of them had no inkling of the posting. Most said they intended to head down Route 3 anyway.

Even at the information center in Kittery, people had no knowledge of the problem. There is no sign warning travelers about the detour around the bridge for heavy vehicles. Service personnel working the information desks said they were informed Tuesday of the posting at the bridge.

One clerk at the Kittery center said the staff had been advised to be “very careful” about not directing people away from the Route 1 bridge. A letter-sized notice behind the clerks’ counter indicated that vehicles weighing 12 tons or wider than 10 feet would have to take an alternate route.

Part of the problem is the ages-old tourist dilemma: What’s the best way to get from Portland to Bar Harbor?

A NEWS reporter posed that question to a man behind the counter at the information center just off Interstate 95 in Yarmouth. The quick reply was, “Stay on 95 to Bangor, take Route 1A south to Ellsworth ….”

The same question was posed to a man at the Portland visitor information center, and he gave two options: I-95 to Augusta, then across Route 3 to Belfast; or take Route 1.

Just north of Freeport and Exit 21 on Interstate 95, a Department of Transportation advisory sign warns travelers about the bridge. The sign notes that the bridge is now posted to prohibit vehicles weighing 24,000 pounds or more. The sign directs vehicles exceeding the weight limit to remain on I-95 to Bangor, then to travel southeast on Route 1A.

The advisory sign – apparently temporary, posted near the guardrail – is situated about a mile south of the exit for the coastal connector highway that leads to Route 1 in Brunswick.

At the rest area and information center in Yarmouth – which is near the DeLorme mapping office, with its giant globe visible from the highway – a man behind the counter recommended taking I-95 to Bangor, then southeast to Ellsworth, as the best way to Bar Harbor.

The I-95 route would take about 31/2 hours, he said.

Asked about Route 1, the man said that route would take about 41/2 hours. The information provider then asked the reporter what kind of vehicle he was driving. When told it was a passenger vehicle, the provider said that as long as it wasn’t an RV weighing more than 24,000 pounds, there would be no problem.

He told the visitor there was “some construction” on the coastal route and that a bridge was restricted for that weight limit.

Paper under the glass on the counter at the Yarmouth center warns travelers about the Waldo-Hancock Bridge: “This bridge is currently undergoing repairs and inspections that may create delays,” it reads. “Our staff will be happy to help you with your travel plans to this area. Passenger vehicle traffic moving via the bridge may experience delays due to the work and inspections. The bridge is open to all vehicles, and passenger vehicle traffic as long as the vehicle weight does not exceed 24,000 pounds or the width exceeds 10 feet.”

As people streamed in and out of the center, both information providers on duty said they had not heard anyone asking about the bridge in recent weeks.

The DOT has notified major tour bus lines, they said, and a state traffic hot line – available by dialing 511 – notes the bridge restriction. But a reporter’s repeated attempts to reach the 511 service by cell phone didn’t work Wednesday.