This is an image set within the Bridgemeister collection.
Bridge: | Deer Isle Suspension Bridge |
Location: | Deer Isle, Sedgwick, Maine, USA - Eggemoggin Reach |
Coordinates and Maps: | See related inventory record(s). |
Image Set Contributor: | David Denenberg |
Date of Images: | May 1999 |
Related Suspension Bridge Inventory: | 1939 Deer Isle - Sedgwick, Maine, USA |
Related Image Lists: | All from David Denenberg All in Maine All in USA All Vehicular Suspension Bridges |
Credit: | All photos by David Denenberg. Please do not reuse without permission. |
Leon Moisseiff (Tacoma Narrows) wasn't the only one building thin, plate-girder suspension bridges in the late 1930's. The Robinson and Steinman-built Deer Isle suspension bridge has been known to do some galloping of its own.
These first two photographs were taken in the mid-1980's on a family vacation. I asked my father to stop the car so I could stand in the rain and take a couple quick pictures.
I made an unplanned sidetrip to revisit the Deer Isle suspension bridge in May of 1999. Unfortunately, the sun was setting as I arrived. It was interesting to notice how much, from a distance, the proportions of the Deer Isle bridge resemble those of the original Tacoma Narrows bridge. As I got closer, it became obvious the bridge had been modified to reduce 'unwanted motion' in the bridge deck. The entire plate girder deck is now obscured with wind deflectors. Cross-bracing between the cables and the deck (forming X's above the roadway) were also added. I also noticed the cables are not wrapped, just bundled at the suspender connections.