Memorial Bridge Lift Span to Be Tested Soon

Working with the tides, Archer Western Contractors are ready to begin the process of floating in the final piece of the new Memorial Bridge - the middle lift span.

According to Carol Morris, an Archer Western Contractors spokesperson, crews are scheduled to first move the middle lift span from the New Hampshire State Pier to the down river side of the Sarah Mildred Long Bridge on Sunday at 6 a.m.

Then on Monday at 1 a.m., Morris said Archer Western Contractors and tugboat pilots from Moran Towing will begin moving the middle lift span towards the new span. She wrote in her e-mail the process could take up to 12 hours to complete.

"The below schedule is based on the tide, as the goal is to move the span down to the bridge just as the outgoing tide is reaching slack. About one knot or slightly less of outgoing tide is optimal," Morris wrote in her e-mail.

The Coast Guard is also scheduled to close the Piscataqua River to all marine traffic for five days from 1 a.m. on Monday, June 17 through 1 a.m. on Saturday, June 22.

"Archer Western expects to need every bit of that time to make the connections and test all aspects of the lift mechanism. Onlookers can expect to see the span raise and lower more than once during the five-day period as the testing continues," Morris wrote in her e-mail.

Archer Western Contractors officials have previously indicated they expect to open the new Memorial Bridge to motor vehicle traffic in July.