The New Hampshire Department of Transportation announces the Memorial Bridge carrying US Route 1 over the Piscataqua River in Portsmouth is open to traffic and has resumed regular lift operations for river traffic.

The replacement of damaged lift cables was completed Sunday afternoon (October 22) and the bridge was immediately returned to normal operations. The bridge was closed to vehicle and pedestrian traffic at noontime on Friday, October 20, following the severing of a back-up lift cable.

New Hampshire Department of Transportation Bridge Maintenance forces joined with a crew from a private contractor this past weekend to replace to two lift cables on the upstream Kittery, Maine side of the bridge. The total cost of the cable replacement effort is estimated at approximately $20,000.

"We were able to complete the cable replacement operation and reopen the bridge sooner than initially anticipated," says NHDOT Administrator of Bridge Maintenance Ed Welch. "Much of the preparation work for the repairs was done on Thursday and Friday in advance of the weekend delivery and installation of the replacement cables."

The Bureau of Bridge Maintenance also annnounces that regularly scheduled openings of the Memorial Bridge and the Sarah Mildren Long Bridge (US Route 1 Bypass) over the Piscataqua River will end for the year on Sunday, October 31, 2000. Beginning Wednesday, November 1, 2000, openings for all river openings will be on-demand. Scheduled lifts are anticipated to resume on May 15, 2001.