NH seeks federal money for new bridge to Maine

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. — The state of New Hampshire is asking the federal government for $20 million in stimulus funding to help build a new bridge between Portsmouth and Kittery, Maine.

Foster’s Daily Democrat says that on Monday the New Hampshire Transportation Department filed its application for a portion of the estimated $90 million cost to replace the 87-year-old Memorial Bridge over the Piscataqua River.

The application says the bridge is “structurally deficient” and “functionally obsolete” and has a weight limit of three tons.

Maine officials agree the bridge is nearing the end of its useful life, but they haven’t ruled out an option of building a single bridge to replace Memorial Bridge and another aging bridge a half mile away.