Names sought for new bridge Area legislators seek input on Waldo-Hancock replacement

VERONA ISLAND – If a rose by any other name would still smell as sweet, will a bridge with any other name still carry the same amount of traffic?

Philosophic and transportation issues aside, a group of local legislators is setting out to help resolve an issue that has been simmering in the region since word came down that a new bridge would be built across the Penobscot River: What should we name the new bridge being built to replace the Waldo-Hancock Bridge?

The area’s legislative representatives, Sens. Carol Weston and Richard Rosen and Rep. Kenneth Lindell, have joined forces in asking the public to weigh in on the issue and make suggestions on what to name the bridge.

“We have been hearing suggestions already from a variety of people and organizations and felt that now was the right time to let everyone know that we want to hear from them,” Weston said in a recent press release.

The legislators also recently wrote to community organizations and schools in the region asking for their suggestions, according to Rosen.

“We though it would be nice to involve the students,” he said. “This project is really a milestone for them. They’re watching this being built and that is going to follow them through their adult life.”

The Maine Department of Transportation has consistently referred to the bridge project in documents as “Penobscot River Crossing,” but officials have stressed that the department has no official role in naming the bridge. That authority lies with the Legislature.

The local legislators have cast a wide net, sending requests for ideas to organizations within a 25-mile radius of the bridge. They also have included various statewide organizations in the invitation. Although individual residents have not been contacted, Rosen encouraged anyone interested to forward their suggestions to Augusta.

Though some might argue that the bridge, no matter what its formal name, will always be known as “the new bridge,” several suggestions for a name already have been put forward publicly. Earlier this year, The Friends of Fort Knox proposed naming the bridge after the nearby historic fort.

Some have suggested the bridge is gateway to the Down East region and that The Gateway Bridge would be an appropriate name, while others argue that since the bridge is located near what historically has been called Penobscot Narrows, that would be a fitting name for the new bridge.

In letters to the editor of the local weekly paper, however, others have insisted that The Waldo-Hancock Bridge has served for almost 75 years and will do for another 75 or more, thank you very much.

State rules, however, apparently prohibit two bridges bearing the same name at the same time, according to Lindell, who added that the new bridge could not be formally named Waldo-Hancock until the old bridge has been removed.

There has been some suggestion that the county names just be switched, Rosen said, and that the new bridge be christened “The Hancock-Waldo Bridge.”

A special link on the DOT Web site has been set up so that suggestions can be made via e-mail. Among those already posted on the site, in addition to those already named, are: Acadia Gateway Bridge, Sea Hawk Bridge, Downeast Sentinel Bridge, Freedom Bridge, General Knox Memorial Bridge, Peavey Bridge, George Mitchell Bridge and Bucksport Bay Bridge.

One well-known joker also suggested the name be either Spandawadah or Spandarivah.

The legislators plan to form a local committee that will review the suggestions throughout the summer and make a recommendation, which the legislators will forward to Augusta. Although the DOT will not have a formal role in the naming process, Rosen said department representatives will help to organize the suggestions for the committee members.

According to Rosen, a bill for the bridge naming already has been submitted to the Legislature and will be held over to the next session, which begins in January. He indicated the legislators will accept suggestions through the summer and that the committee will make a recommendation in the fall in time to add the new name to the proposed bill for action by the Legislature.

The bridge is scheduled to be open to traffic by fall 2006.

Suggestions can be sent by e-mail to: www.waldohancockbridge.com and clicking on the “Help Name the Bridge” section. Or write to the legislators: New Bridge Names, c/o Senate Republican Office, 3 State House Station, Augusta 04333-0003.