Memorial Bridge (Portsmouth, New Hampshire)

World War I Memorial Bridge
File:Memorial Bridge (Portsmouth, New Hampshire).JPG The new Memorial Bridge
Coordinates
Carries	US 1
Crosses	Piscataqua River
Locale	Portsmouth, NH and Kittery, ME
Official name	The Bridge Memorial to Sailors and Soldiers of New Hampshire who gave their lives in World War I
ID number	021702470008400
Characteristics
Design	Vertical-lift bridge
Total length	366.1 m (1,201 ft)
Width	8.5 m (27.9 ft)
Longest span	91.5 m (300 ft)
Clearance below	39.6 m (129.9 ft) (Lift span open)
History
Opened	August 8, 2013
Statistics
Toll	None

The World War I Memorial Bridge is a vertical-lift bridge that carries U.S. Route 1 across the Piscataqua River between Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and Badger's Island in Kittery, Maine, United States. A large overhead plaque facing traffic on the bridge reads "Memorial to the Sailors and Soldiers of New Hampshire who gave their lives in the World War 1917–1919."

The lift span can be fully opened to allow large commercial vessels to pass. During summer, the lift section remains partially elevated every half-hour between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. for about 15 minutes. This allows smaller commercial and recreational boat traffic. The bridge is currently the only one of the three Piscataqua River bridges with provisions for pedestrians and bicycles. New Hampshire and Maine designated the bridge as part of their State Bicycle Routes, and the bridge is part of the proposed East Coast Greenway.

History

Previous bridge

Constructed between 1920 and 1923, the original Memorial Bridge was the first without toll to span the Piscataqua between Portsmouth and Kittery. The bridge was constructed as a joint venture between the states of Maine and New Hampshire and the federal government. It was dedicated as a World War I memorial.

Originally, the road over the bridge was part of New England Interstate Route 1, also known as the Atlantic Highway. When the New England routes were superseded by the United States Numbered Highways in 1926 it was redesignated as US 1.

Old bridge emergency closures

On October 16, 2009, the New Hampshire Department of Transportation and the Maine Department of Transportation announced the immediate closure of the bridge to all motor vehicle traffic for emergency repairs. The bridge was reopened on November 20, 2009, following completion of repair work, and was reposted at a three-ton weight limit.

On December 9, 2010, the New Hampshire Department of Transportation announced an immediate closure of the bridge (effective 12:00 pm on the same day) to all motor vehicle traffic. This announcement came upon the findings of a regular bridge inspection, which led to observations of significant safety concerns. The bridge was reopened to vehicles under three tons on December 18, 2010, following emergency repairs. Plans for replacement continued to move forward.

Final bridge closure and demolition

The old bridge, seen from Prescott Park in Portsmouth

On July 27, 2011, the Memorial Bridge was permanently closed. An inspection cited "too many problems in too many places." Portsmouth resident Eileen Foley, who at age 5 cut the ribbon to open the bridge at a 1923 ceremony, tied two ribbons for the closing ceremony. Foley served multiple terms as Portsmouth's mayor during the lifetime of the bridge.

On January 3, 2012, the NHDOT announced that the bridge would be permanently closed to pedestrians and cyclists on January 9, 2012. The NHDOT operated an hourly shuttle bus between Portsmouth and Kittery until the new bridge was complete. The center span of the bridge was demolished on February 8, 2012.

Bridge replacement

Because of the condition of the bridge, vehicles weighing more than 20 tons were prohibited. This restriction was lowered to 10 tons on July 10, 2009. A rehabilitation project for the bridge was planned for 2009, pending funding. The project was expected to last two years and cost more than $30 million. It was expected that the federal government would cover 80% of the cost. The rest would have been split between Maine and New Hampshire.

The Memorial Bridge rehabilitation project was placed on hold in 2009 because the winning bid for the contract came in $15 million over the intended budget. This stalled rehabilitation project together with proposals to demolish and replace the bridge were factors in the inclusion of the bridge in the National Trust for Historic Preservation list of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places for 2009.

On May 6, 2010, the Senate Transportation Committee of the New Hampshire legislature unanimously voted to include $44 million in bonds that, in addition to other state and federal funds, would allow the Memorial Bridge to be replaced without further funding from Maine, which is half-owner of the bridge. This plan was contingent on approval by the full legislature, an agreement with the State of Maine, and availability of federal stimulus funds. George Campbell, commissioner of the N.H. Department of Transportation, said at a Portsmouth City Council meeting in 2010 that the bridge was too far beyond repair for rehabilitation. Original bridge piers would be reused. The replica would look similar to the original span.

The new bridge was officially dedicated at a ceremony on the New Hampshire side of the span just before noon on August 8, 2013. Former Portsmouth Mayor Eileen Foley cut the red ribbon 90 years after she performed the same honors for the original span in 1923. The bridge initially opened to only pedestrians and bicyclists. The new bridge - constructed over two still existing piers - opened to vehicular traffic at 2:00 p.m., first with southbound traffic (Maine to New Hampshire), and then northbound. Additional work on the new bridge was finished in November 2013.

Tanker collision

On March 7, 2014, at 5:15 a.m. the oil tanker Seapride struck the bridge's pier #3 on the Maine side of the channel. Initial inspection indicated that damage was confined to the bumper system designed to protect the bridge from collision damage. The bridge remained open and was not closed to traffic. The United States Coast Guard initiated an investigation.

Photographs

• Portsmouth Memorial Bridge 02.jpg

  Memorial dedication plaque over the Portsmouth entrance

• Portsmouth Memorial Bridge 03.jpg

  Plaque naming the bridge's building commission

• Portsmouth Memorial Bridge 04.jpg

  A sailboat passes beneath the open lift span.

• Portsmouth Memorial Bridge 05.jpg

  The Portsmouth end of the bridge

• Portsmouth Harbor Bridges.jpg

  The three spans from Portsmouth to Kittery: Memorial Bridge, Sarah Mildred Long Bridge and Piscataqua River Bridge

• Memorial Bridge Pano.jpg

  Panoramic of Memorial Bridge at night, as seen from Prescott Park pier

• Memorial bridge portsmouth panorama.jpg

  A 270-degree view of the bridge from the Piscataqua River

External links

• Memorial Bridge webcam
• Dedication of the Memorial Bridge; Portsmouth, NH to Kittery, ME; August 17, 1923, pictures from the newsreel of the opening of the bridge (seacoastnh.com)
  • "A Big Bridge and a Little Girl, 1923", J. Dennis Robinson, Aug. 16, 1998. Related article discussing the bridge and girl who cut the ribbon. Her mother, and later she herself, would go on to become mayors of Portsmouth.
• "Stuck gate on bridge stalls Rt. 1 traffic"; Emily Aronson, Portsmouth Herald, Sept. 14, 2006
• "A Bridge Too Vital", D. Allan Kerr, seacoastonline.com (opinion piece)
• Image Gallery: "Memorial Bridge Gets Sendoff", Portsmouth Patch, October 2, 2011