VERONA ISLAND – Commuters will have to wait until late 2006 before they will be able to drive across the new Waldo-Hancock Bridge, the state announced Tuesday.

The state Department of Transportation had hoped to have the bridge open by June 2005. The bridge and the 72-year-old structure it will replace carry U.S. Route 1 across the Penobscot River.

Extending the deadline will actually allow the department to save money, DOT said.

The main cables on the old bridge, which is at the same location, have deteriorated to the point where engineers believe it is not feasible to replace or repair them.

DOT said Tuesday it has signed a $4 million contract with Cianbro Corp. and Reed & Reed LLC to build the lower pylons of the cable stayed bridge. This contract covers construction of the pylons to 142 feet above the Penobscot River.

That will bring the pylons up to the underside of the bridge deck, where the superstructure begins, or about 13 feet below the planned road, said Tom Doe, the department’s project manager.

A separate contract will bring the pylons to their full height of 420 feet.

The total cost of the bridge is still estimated at $75 million. But, by designing and contracting bridge construction in phases, DOT officials hope to keep overall costs down.

The successful addition of support cables to the old bridge last year allowed the extension of the construction schedule into late 2006.

The extended schedule, Doe said, allows the department to save money by using slower, more cost-effective construction processes, including cast-in-place concrete segments instead of precasting those segments.

“Casting in place is slower but less expensive as the contractor does not have to build two casting yards in which to precast the segments,” he said.

Two yards – one on either side of the river – would have been necessary because the precast segments would have been too heavy to transport across the existing bridge. Transporting the segments through Bangor also would not have been feasible, he said.

Local reaction to the extended schedule appeared positive Tuesday.

“We support it,” said David Milan, economic development director in nearby Bucksport. “We’ve been assured that the support cables are working fine, so it seems prudent to use the extended time period to cut the costs.”

Leon Seymour, executive director of Friends of Fort Knox, a nearby historic site, also supported the extended deadline. “It makes sense if they’re able to effect significant cost savings,” Seymour said. “It’s good for the taxpayer.”

The extended schedule also will allow more time to plan for changes at the fort to accommodate new traffic patterns and parking for the planned observation deck atop the western bridge tower. Plans call for access to the tower and observation deck through the fort.

Updated designs for the new bridge still include the observatory, according to Deputy Transportation Commissioner Bruce Van Note.

“We have made significant progress in obtaining funding and negotiation with our contractor partners,” Van Note said. “However, we still face serious challenges with bringing construction cost within budget, as well as gaining the remaining funding.”

Van Note said the department is committed to designing an open observatory space with 360-degree views that are accessible to everyone.

Construction of the pylons is expected to begin early in June, immediately after the concrete for the second pylon foundation is poured on the east side of the river. This stage is supposed to be finished by late summer.

Construction of the superstructure will begin after that, followed by work on the upper portion of the pylons, which should be completed by spring 2005.

Subsequent construction phases will push the opening of the bridge to late 2006.