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Plans for new bridge safety barrier delayed

FILE - In this Oct. 26, 2006 file photo, the old Waldo-Hancock Bridge, rear, and the new Penobscot Narrows Bridge, foreground, span the Penobscot River, in this view looking west from Bucksport, Maine. Crews have begun preparing the site for the October 2012 start of a nine-month, $5.3 million demolition project on the Waldo-Hancock Bridge. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)
Robert F. Buakty/AP
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AP
FILE - In this Oct. 26, 2006 file photo, the old Waldo-Hancock Bridge, rear, and the Penobscot Narrows Bridge, foreground, span the Penobscot River, in this view looking west from Bucksport, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)

The state transportation department said wind-tunnel testing needs to be done before a suicide-prevention barrier is installed on the Penobscot Narrows Bridge near Bucksport.

Transportation Department spokesman Paul Merrill said engineers want to determine how the bridge would react to wind with the addition of a fence. "We want to make sure whatever we put on there is not going to change the functionality of the bridge," he said.

The state had hoped to begin work this summer, but Merrill said engineers decided, "we've got to sharpen our pencils and do a little more design work.”

He said the state still hopes to award a construction contract by year's end, but it may slip into next year.

The Penobscot Narrows Bridge opened in 2006. Merrill said the original construction model still exists and will play a role in the latest testing. Merrill said the wind-tunnel testing should take place this summer.

A reminder that if you, or someone you know is having a mental health crisis, there is help available by calling 9-8-8. Just those three numbers, 9-8-8 will reach the National Suicide Prevention Hotline.