UPDATED: Sarah Long Bridge Reopens

UPDATED, 5:30 p.m.: New Hampshire Department of Transportation officials reopened the Sarah Mildred Long Bridge to motor vehicle traffic on Monday 11 days ahead of schedule.

Cianbro Corp. contractors were able to complete their structural repairs on the Portsmouth side of the bridge sooner than the state agency had anticipated.

Earlier story: Cianbro Corp. contractors have made great progress on repairing the Sarah Mildred Long Bridge and it could be reopened by May 24 or even earlier, according to New Hampshire Department of Transportation officials.

William Boynton, the state agency's public information officer, wrote in an e-mail that the Maine company has completed several steps to make the Portsmouth side of the span safe for motor vehicle traffic again.

According to New Hampshire DOT District Construction Engineer Nickie Hunter, Cianbro contractors completed the in-water temporary support system was on May 3.

Boynton wrote that Hunter informed him that Cianbro crews worked May 2 to install the jacking system to support the superstructure in preparation for replacement of the damaged vertical member.

He noted that heat straightening began last week and that work is being performed by International Straightening, Inc. of Bismarck, N.D.

"While the heat straightening operations work is ongoing, Cianbro's crews  are also working on the replacement/reinforcement of the damaged vertical and diagonal members. The bridge is still on track to be opened by May 24 if not sooner," Boynton wrote.

The Sarah Mildred Long Bridge was closed to all motor vehicle traffic on Monday, April 1 after the Harbour Feature tanker, which was carrying a cargo of tallow oil, broke free from its moorings at the New Hampshire State Pier slammed into the bridge.

New Hampshire DOT officials later said the tanker caused $2.5 million of damage to four steel bridge members on the Portsmouth side of the span. The state agency along with the Maine Department of Transportation also filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Concord against the Harbour Feature's shipping company to force them to reimburse the repair costs.