Penobscot Narrows Bridge and Observation Tower

     My adventure in Maine begins with a short trip south along Highway 1 to the town of Bucksport Maine.  Just across the river from Bucksport is the Penobscot Narrows Bridge.  The span is a little over two thousand one hundred feet in length.  The bridge is an innovative design that does not use anchors for the cable stays.  There are two tower that support the bridges decks and one of these tower has an observation room at the top.    The bridge is amazing.

 I took a photograph of the bridge from underneath showing the expanse of the bridge deck.  There is one hundred and thirty five feet between the bridge deck and the water. The bridge was an emergency replacement for the an existing bridge that was in danger of falling down.  The towers are four hundred and twenty feet above the River.  One of the towers contains an observatory.  This is the only bridge observatory in the United States.  This observatory in one of only four in the entire world.
The towers remind me of the Washington Monument in Washington D.C.  I understand that the towers are modeled after the Monument.  The bridge is partially build with granite from Mt Waldo, which is where the stones came from to build the Washington Monument.  The observation deck allows views of the Penobscot River, Verona Island and Bucksport.  I think it 

cost five dollars to see both Fort Knox and take the tour up to the top of the tower.  If your passing through the area, this is well worth the admission fee.