PORTSMOUTH, N.H. — Transportation officials say two-way traffic resumed on a lift bridge between Maine and New Hampshire hours after it was struck by lightning.
New Hampshire Department of Transportation spokesman Bill Boynton says the Sarah Mildred Long Bridge was in lift mode when lightning hit. He says the lift span came down at an uneven angle, causing damage that left a normally underground metal plate jutting out into one of the two lanes.
He also says several gauges were knocked out by the lightning strike at 11:35 a.m. Monday.
No one was hurt.
The Piscataqua River bridge connects Portsmouth to Kittery, Maine, and is getting heavier-than-normal use during demolition of the Memorial Bridge. Police were directing alternating one-way traffic on Monday. Two-way traffic resumed on Monday evening.
shocking news
That leaves one functional two-way bridge between Portsmouth & Kittery.
Isn’t that like one to many? hehe
That depends on whether or not you like tourists or at least the $$$ they pump into the Maine economy.
It’s not one too many if you like the most cost effective way to haul goods in and out of Maine. The people who end up paying for the higher transportation costs are the consumers of Maine, unfortunately.
How electrifying that is. It’s a sign. Tourists should stay out of Maine.
Bridges are like anything that needs attention. The two states involved maintaing the three bridges that cross the Piscataqua River have the monumental job of moving traffic from NH into Maine. These bridges have needed attention for sometime now. The largest bridge seems to get attention. It being the newest. the other two were in tough shape for a very long time. One has been removed as it well beyond repair. The Sarah Mildred Long has had a number of problems and tis is what happens when the two States leadership squabble over time about how to fix the problems. Now we appear to be using a very questionable bridge at this point. When the economy was healthier they needed to get to the job at hand. Let government deal with problems and this is what we get…nothing get’s done when the problems arise, just squabbling.. but they are there for dipping into our pockets for any tax they can think up…The american patriots are getting fed up with the mentality serving our needs. Have fun finding money from the nonexistant middle class.