Blasting to stall traffic at Waldo-Hancock bridge

PROSPECT – There will be periods of one-lane traffic at the new bridge construction site this week as the ledge-blasting operation moves closer to Route 1 and the end of the existing Waldo-Hancock bridge.

According to the state Department of Transportation, there will be alternating one-way traffic in the area from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. all week that may result in minor delays.

Crews from Maine Drilling and Blasting have been blasting the ledge along Route 1 in order to create a new approach to the new bridge that will eliminate the sharp turn on the western end of the bridge.

Plans call for them to remove approximately 150,000 cubic feet of rock in order to create the new road.

Earlier this year, after a vehicle struck a section of ledge that had fallen onto the road, crews closed the southbound shoulder on Route 1 and set up concrete barriers to keep most of the blasted rock out of the travel lanes.

Traffic will be stopped intermittently as crews clear loose rock from the top of the ledge near existing Route 1. Most delays will last about five to eight minutes, according to DOT spokeswoman Carol Morris.

Some blasting last week resulted in some periods of one-way traffic. Along with maintenance on the existing bridge, that caused some motorists to be stopped on the Waldo-Hancock bridge, something the department has attempted to avoid in the past.

Although stopping traffic off the bridge often results in longer delays for motorists, cars will be stopped at the Verona Island end of the bridge so that vehicles will not back up on the bridge, Morris said.

“There’s still a concern,” she said Monday. “We heard that loud and clear during the strengthening project. People don’t seem to be comfortable being stopped on the bridge.”

The strengthening project added new support cables to the existing bridge and allowed the department to raise the weight limits it had imposed to 80,000 pounds. It is safe for traffic to be stopped on the bridge, Morris said, but motorists still don’t like it.

Blasting crews expect to complete this phase of the blasting – and the one-lane traffic – by the end of the week. The blasting project, however, will continue throughout the summer.