In the early days of the automobile, travelers along this section of U.S. Route 1 either waited in long lines for a ferry across the Penobscot River or went 27 miles north to cross between Bangor and Brewer. In 1929, Maine voters authorized funds to build the Waldo-Hancock Bridge, named for the two counties it connects, and it opened to traffic on November 16, 1931. More than 2,500 cars paid the toll to cross in its first week. Its main span, 800 feet long, was more than twice as long as any other bridge in Maine, and its overall length was 2,040 feet. Heralded as the "most beautiful steel bridge," it cost less than $1 million to build. Designed by David Steinman of Robinson and Steinman of New York, the bridge used modern features for its time, including pre-stressed wire strand cables and Vierendeel trusses, which Steinman said emphasized horizontal and vertical lines compatible with the natural rocky setting, nearby Fort Knox, and the colonial architecture of Bucksport. In mid-2003, during a major overhaul, severe corrosion hidden by protective sheathing was discovered in the cables. Engineers concluded that the cables were too corroded to save and that the bridge needed replacement as soon as possible. For safety, its legal load limit was immediately reduced from 100,000 to 24,000 pounds. As a temporary measure, 16 new strengthening cables were designed, fabricated, and installed during the next 16 weeks, an unprecedented accomplishment on a standing suspension bridge that kept it safe while its replacement was designed and built.