BUCKSPORT – While expressing skepticism about the weight limit imposed last week on the Waldo-Hancock Bridge, representatives from regional companies with transportation concerns told state officials Thursday to do whatever they could to have the limit raised.

Approximately 50 people attended a meeting Thursday morning at the International Paper mill to discuss with Maine Department of Transportation officials the 12-ton limit imposed by the state and the effects of that limit on regional transportation.

With the restriction, trucks over the limit have to drive 40 miles out of their way through Bangor to get to the other side of the Penobscot River.

Construction workers on Thursday began removing two thick concrete curbs on the bridge to reduce the weight of the structure.

DOT officials have said the weight restriction wouldn’t be changed because of the curb removal.

Some trucking company officials questioned the rationale and legitimacy of the weight limit, which was put in place July 11 after consultants on the suspension bridge’s rehabilitation project found more deterioration in support cables than expected.

Steve Whitcomb of H.O. Bouchard Inc. in Hampden asked about the sudden imposition of the limit and about the state’s willingness to allow several cars and light trucks on the bridge at once, even if the total weight of those vehicles exceed the 24,000-pound limit imposed on heavy trucks.

“It makes me think this is a public image appeasement process and has nothing to do with the weight issue,” Whitcomb said.

Meanwhile, Maine State Police are doing what they can to keep heavy trucks off the bridge.

Sgt. Jan Reynolds said Thursday that state police stationed at either end of the bridge are turning back between 15 and 20 vehicles per day that exceed the 12-ton limit.

One tractor-trailer managed to cross the bridge Tuesday night as a trooper was occupied with something else, Reynolds said. The trooper pursued and stopped the truck and issued the driver a summons for violating a bridge posting, she said.

“Obviously, there are some people willing to take the risk of running the bridge,” Reynolds said. “Running over a posted bridge is a substantial fine.”

At Thursday’s meeting, Brian Bouchard of H.O. Bouchard urged DOT officials to be fair with the limit and any other restrictions that may be imposed.

“Six cars violate that [weight limit],” Bouchard said of the 12-ton restriction. “We’ve got to be careful we’re not creating some discrimination here.”

Bill Forbes, safety director of the Maine Motor Transport Association, questioned the wisdom of having a flagger stop traffic on the bridge while repair crews are working.

“It’s [the flagger’s] decision to stop traffic,” Forbes said. “He doesn’t care if there are 40 million vehicles on there.”

DOT spokesman Greg Nadeau said the restriction is based on expert recommendations and is aimed at distributing weight on the 72-year-old span.

“It’s the concentration of weight and the impact that has on the cables, as opposed to having that weight spread out,” Nadeau said.

Jim Sullivan of Webber Oil said that if the state could strengthen the bridge and raise the weight limit to between 30,000 and 40,000 pounds, truckers could cross the bridge when empty and go through Bangor when they are loaded.

“A lot of issues go away [with an increased limit],” Sullivan said. “I think it’s imperative we get that number up as soon as possible.”

Forcing traffic onto Route 15 between Brewer and Bucksport in winter weather, potentially blocking river traffic with a pontoon bridge, and the impracticality of allowing truck traffic over the bridge only during certain hours were among other concerns discussed Thursday.

Sandra Blake, Searsport town manager, said she has spoken with campground and motel owners in her town about the effects of the bridge restriction on tourism.

She said tourism business in Searsport has decreased since last year because of “misleading” signs in southern Maine about the bridge weight limit.

Blake said the Route 1 reconstruction project in Searsport last year forced some local businesses to close.

“Our community can’t afford to have any more businesses shut down,” Blake said.

Dave Milan, Bucksport’s economic development director, said after the meeting that the project’s Public Advisory Committee will meet next at 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 23, at the Bucksport Public Safety Building on Franklin Street.

The focus of the meeting will not be on the economic impact of bridge restrictions but on possible designs and locations for a new bridge across the river, Milan said.