Memorial Bridge Contractor on Hook for $450K

Archer Western received many thanks for a job well done when the Memorial Bridge, a project it finished in 18 months, opened on Thursday.

But the bridge contractor still owes New Hampshire big money.

According to William Boynton, the public information officers for the state Department of Transportation, the bridge contractor owes the state $450,000 because it delivered the new bridge project 19 days later than the deadline of July 19.

Boynton said no decision has been made yet whether the state agency will waive the penalty because the contract that Archer Western Contractors signed with the state DOT called on them to complete the $81.4 million project by that deadline. Boynton also said the actual cost of the project was closer to $90 million.

Thousands celebrated the opening of the new Memorial Bridge on Thursday morning after former Portsmouth Mayor Eileen Foley cut the ribbon 90 years after she performed the same task to open the former Memorial Bridge in 1923.