There will be no ships entering or leaving the Port of New Hampshire for the next 10 days, as the Piscataqua River channel will be closed while crews float in the new Sarah Mildred Long Bridge lift span. The closure begins at 6 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 17, with the float-in scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 18, between 10 and 11 a.m. The port will reopen to marine traffic on Friday, Oct. 27, at 6 a.m., according to the Maine Department of Transportation.
Built in 1940, the Sarah Mildred Long is a lift bridge that carries the Route 1 Bypass over the Piscataqua River between Portsmouth and Kittery. Construction of a replacement for the aging bridge began in January 2015. The bridge is expected to reopen to traffic in mid to late November, with the entire project scheduled for completion by the summer of 2018.
For updates on the Sarah Mildred Long Bridge replacement, click here.