FHWA Administrator Mendez Celebrates Memorial Bridge Opening

Topics:  Victor Mendez

Federal Highway Administration
8 August 2013

FHWA 34-13
Thursday, August 8, 2013
Contact: Nancy Singer
Tel: 202-366-0660

Bridge is vital connector for New Hampshire and Maine

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. - The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administrator Victor Mendez today joined New Hampshire Governor Maggie Hassan, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (N.H.), Sen. Kelly Ayotte (N.H.), Sen. Susan Collins (Maine) and state and local officials to celebrate the opening of the new Memorial Bridge connecting Portsmouth, N.H., and Kittery, Maine. The cost of the bridge is $90 million and includes $79.3 million in federal funds, including a $20 million TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) grant.

"The opening of the Memorial Bridge means that residents and visitors alike will no longer have to waste their valuable time going through out-of-the-way detours," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. "Drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians who are traveling to and from the downtown sections of Portsmouth and Kittery once again have a direct route."

The new bridge, one of three crossings over the Piscataqua River between Portsmouth and Kittery, replaces the aged Memorial Bridge, which was permanently closed to traffic for safety reasons in July 2011, inconveniencing residents and businesses in the region. Typically 12,100 vehicles used the bridge on a given day.

"This bridge is a great example of innovation at work," said Administrator Mendez said. "It's exciting to see a project going beyond 'newer and better' by using ingenuity and cutting-edge approaches."

The new Memorial Bridge is the first truss bridge in the United States built without gusset plates, which connect bridge beams, or trusses, together. Instead, the metal sections are all uniform in size so they fit together like puzzle pieces through a process called splicing.

The steel portions of the new bridge are finished with a metalized coating expected to last 40-50 years without requiring maintenance.

The three spans have a consistent design which expedited construction while maintaining the look of the old bridge. The new lift bridge has a modern control house with windows that provide a 360 degree view to enhance visibility for operators and improve safety.

The Department's TIGER program so far has provided $3.1 billion to support 218 projects in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico and will soon award another round of grants totaling $474 million.