VIDEO: South Span to be Done by Christmas

Archer Western Contractors Steve Delgrosso said having the use of the Port of New Hampshire to construct the new Memorial Bridge's three spans has provided the company with a very useful situation.

As a result, the South Span will be completely assembled by Christmas and is scheduled to be attached to the Scott Avenue approach on the Portsmouth side of the Piscataqua River by mid-January, Delgrosso said Thursday afternoon.

Archer Western Contractors provided the media with a tour of the construction site where fabricated steel beams have been trucked in and used to construct the 350-foot, 600-ton South Span. Delgrosso said the North Span and the Middle Lift Span will also be assembled and constructed at the Port of New Hampshire.

Moran Towing of Portsmouth and Riverside Marine of Eliot, Maine will tow the barges down river so Archer Western Contractors crews can attach each section at low tide, Delgrosso explained. He added that everything is on schedule for the $81.9 million Memorial Bridge project to be completed by the target date of July 6, 2013.

Overall, Delgrosso said the construction process for the new bridge's spans is going smoothly. "The bridge is going together very nicely," he said.

He said a crew of 18 people have been working to build the South Span with steel girders from Structal Steel of Claremont. He said the concrete was being poured for the Scott Avenue approach sidewalks and work on the micropiles at Pier 2 and Pier 3 in the river is going well.

One of the most striking things about the new Memorial Bridge is its color. While the former Memorial Bridge was painted green, the new bridge has been sprayed with metallic zinc to give it a light gray look. The color has already been described and named "Piscataqua mist."

Delgrosso said the decision about new bridge's appearance wasn't based solely on aesthetics. He said metallic zinc coating has a much greater life expectancy than its predessor so it will rust or require as much maintenance.

Delgrosso also said that a portion of the 200-foot lift span towers will be constructed and attached to the South Span and North Span before they are floated in and attached to the Portsmouth and Kittery, Maine side approaches. He said that 120 feet of the new lift span towers will be built after the two spans are in place. Delgrosso added the Kittery approach for the new bridge is also expected to be completed by this Christmas.

What follows is a video of the South Span project.