Sarah Mildred Long Bridge to Open for Motor Vehicle Traffic Sunday Night

In less than two hours, Portsmouth area drivers will be able to use the Sarah Mildred Long Bridge again after New Hampshire Department of Transportation crews successfully repaired the middle lift span.

Bill Boynton, the NH DOT's public information officer, wrote in an e-mail Sunday night that motor vehicle traffic will be able to use the bridge beginning at 7 p.m. "Just got the call...testing went well this afternoon....planning to open the bridge to motor vehicle traffic by 7 p.m. tonight and resume normal operations," he wrote.

The bridge had been closed since Wednesday afternoon after the middle lift span became stuck one foot above the road. NH DOT bridge maintenance crews worked to repair the middle lift span for more than four days.

They successfully raised the middle lift span on Saturday to accommodate marine traffic that needed to deliver cargo to companies up river in Newington. They were scheduled to lower the middle lift span at 2 p.m. on Sunday and conduct extensive testing to determine if normal operations could resume in time for the Monday morning commute.