Replacement Project
- The new bridge was designed by a joint venture between specialty bridge design firms FIGG I Hardesty & Hanover. Maine-based Cianbro will be the construction firm for the project.
- Design process began in 2013 with construction starting winter 2015.
- Traffic will be impacted for around 10 months at the end of the project as it intercepts the old bridge at the Kittery side
- Traffic will be detoured to the Piscataqua River Bridge on I-95.
- New bridge scheduled to open in September 2017.
Key Bridge Attributes
- New bridge alignment improves marine navigation by straightening the navigational channel, allowing larger ships to access the port and shipyard.
- With a larger 56’ vertical clearance in its “resting” position, there will be 68% fewer bridge openings. In the normal operating, “resting” position, the bridge’s lift span is at its middle level, allowing motor vehicles to cross the river. The new bridge’s movable “hybrid” span lifts up to allow passage of tall vessels and lowers to railroad track level for trains to cross.
- 200’ tall precast concrete towers will support the 300’ long streamlined structural steel box girder lift span.
- New bridge layout uses eleven (11) fewer piers than the existing bridge, also improving the gateway span leading into downtown Portsmouth by eliminating an existing median pier.
For more information visit http://maine.gov/mdot/sml/
