Crews add sealer to bridge Leaks spurred DOT’s move to protect electronic equipment

PROSPECT – Maintenance crews were busy Monday adding a new coat of sealer to the median on the Penobscot Narrows Bridge.

The work is not part of the original bridge project and it will replace the original sealer, which leaked, according to Maine Department of Transportation spokesman Mark Latti.

“There was moisture getting into the interior of the bridge,” Latti said. “The original coating was not working as well as we had hoped.”

The resealing project will cost the DOT $418,000.

The bridge deck structure is hollow inside. The cable stays, which hold the cables that support the bridge deck, run through the median and are secured inside to the deck structure. Although the cables are sealed, there was concern that moisture inside the bridge eventually could damage the cables, Latti said.

Latti also noted that electronic equipment inside the bridge could be damaged by moisture. He said that freezing and thawing of water inside the bridge also could cause problems.

It was water damage and corrosion to the main cables on the Waldo-Hancock Bridge that forced the DOT to scrap the 75-year-old bridge and to build the Penobscot Narrows Bridge. The new bridge was opened to traffic in December 2006.

During the summer, crews stripped the original sealer off the median and are applying a three-layer sealant. The new sealant comes with a five-year guarantee.

rhewitt@bangordailynews.net

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