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Publications [#268173] of Henry Petroski

Papers Published

  1. Petroski, H, Waldo-Hancock bridge, American Scientist, vol. 94 no. 6 (January, 2006), pp. 498-501, Sigma Xi, ISSN 0003-0996 [doi]
    (last updated on 2023/06/01)

    Abstract:
    Among the components of a responsible design is the specification of a regular program of inspection and maintenance. The Waldo-Hancock Bridge is a classic case study of a bridge once heralded as a masterpiece growing obsolete and neglected over time. The bridge is exactly 1,500 feet between anchorages with a central span of 800 feet. The Waldo-Hancock Bridge has been a model construction project taking a total of only 16 months and coming in at about 70 percent of the original appropriation of $1.2 million. By the summer of 2003, the Waldo-Hancock Bridge has had a limited useful-life expectancy as few as four to six years. The Department of Transportation (DOT) has proposed to add supplementary cables to the old to which enabling some of the weight of the existing structure and its traffic to be taken off the original cables. The new finally approved name is Penobscot Narrows Bridge and Observatory.


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