What You Can Do
- Write to Maine Governor John Baldacci to encourage the rehabilitation of Memorial Bridge.
- Learn more about Sustainability.
11 Most Endangered
Memorial Bridge
Year Listed: 2009
Location: Kittery, Maine & Portsmouth , New Hampshire
Current Status: Endangered
Threat: Demolition
Latest News
October 16, 2009: Memorial Bridge is scheduled to be closed for necessary repairs. Read more.
July 2009: After strong advocacy from communities and preservationists in both states and by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Maine agreed to join New Hampshire in applying for federal stimulus funding, in a renewed effort to advance toward rehabilitation without further delay.
Memorial Bridge
World War I Memorial dedication to soldiers and sailors over the New Hampshire entrance.
Memorial Bridge
View of the bridge and the Piscataqua River from Badgers Island during its construction in 1922.
Memorial Bridge
Memorial Bridge
Significance
For more than 85 years, Memorial Bridge, the first major "vertical lift" bridge in the eastern US, has been a sturdy and dramatic landmark, spanning the Piscataqua River and connecting the historic coastal towns of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and Kittery, Maine. At its 1923 dedication as the official state memorial to World War I servicemen, the bridge had the longest lift span in the country (297 feet), making it the prototype for later metal truss bridges. Unlike a drawbridge, which swings open and upward like a gate, a vertical-lift bridge hoists a single section straight up, allowing boats to pass underneath. For generations, the bridge has carried automobiles along coastal Route 1, and its wood-floored walkways still provide the only pedestrian and cycling link between two communities steeped in history.
With its dramatic 200-foot twin towers, Memorial Bridge is one of three highway bridges spanning the Piscataqua River between New Hampshire and Maine. The bridge plays a critical role in the local economy linking historic downtown Portsmouth and the recently revitalized Kittery Foreside neighborhood.
Our nation's historic bridges are being destroyed at the alarming rate of one every two or three days. Lack of maintenance and a knee-jerk preference for replacement often counters the directive of Congress that historic bridges be preserved whenever possible. Bridges that cross state lines are especially vulnerable.
Updates
April 2009: In 2007, the states of Maine and New Hampshire agreed that Memorial Bridge should be fully rehabilitated. When estimates came back $15 million over budget, the two states disagreed on how to pay for proposed repairs and are now studying their options, including destruction and replacement of Memorial Bridge, a solution that could be far more costly.
Although owned jointly by both states, Memorial Bridge is operated by New Hampshire, which placed the bridge at the top of the state Department of Transportation's "Red List," of bridges needing repair. At a public meeting in Portsmouth in November, 2008, New Hampshire officials revealed that two bids had been submitted for bridge rehabilitation, both substantially higher than pre-bid estimates. The Maine Department of Transportation was unwilling to proceed with the rehabilitation at the higher price.
A broad coalition of seacoast area preservation, business, green, and veterans' organizations supports the recent proposal by NH DOT that both states seek competitive infrastructure stimulus funds to completely rehabilitate the Memorial Bridge. Maine DOT, however, has not yet concurred.
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Share your memories of this endangered place
Submitted by big d at: February 22, 2010
i proposed to my wife on the bridge
Submitted by Daniel Street at: February 18, 2010
My grandfather was one of the first people to drive across the Memorial Bridge when it opened, but that is hardly reason to sink money into the rusting relic. Built in the early 20th-century, the Memorial Bridge is now as obsolete as the vehicles it was designed to carry, and nostalgia isn't going to alter the fact. Fine, many people are used to it, and change can be painful. But the bridge was built for a utilitarian purpose which today it just barely fulfills. The steel is deteriorated, and the grate floor is downright dangerous for motorcycles. What is so bad about replacing it with an efficient contemporary design, while retaining the familiar name? And if the money isn't there to erect a new Memorial Bridge, get rid of it altogether and restore the old waterfront. Fine architecture should be preserved, but not infrastructure that has outlived its usefulness.
Submitted by polarityphoto.com at: December 31, 2009
Having grown up in NH and spent a good portion of my life on the seacoast I can say that from a local perspective it would be an absolute tragedy to lose the Memorial Bridge. Speaking from the perspective of someone who photographs historic architecture and engineering it would be a complete shame and an utter disgrace to not stand up for the preservation of Memorial Bridge; not to mention the symbolic blow to veterans that demolishing this bridge would deliver. Speak up folks! Don't let Memorial Bridge become General Sullivan Bridge 2.0!
Submitted by Pontist at: September 10, 2009
Though the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) was responsible for helping create (HAER) in the late-1960s, few engineers or highway departments, at the time, practiced or embraced the preservation of their own heritage. Engineering heritage was a new concept, with only a few having any clue of its meaning – much less ramifications for the future. Over the past 40 years, the movement has spread. Today, it is recognized that aspects of our cultural heritage are worth preserving, including bridges like Memorial. ME and NH are two of the most sophisticated states regarding heritage. It would be shameful if Memorial Bridge was replaced. HAER is a federal program established in1969, to create a national archive of America's engineering, industrial and technological heritage.
Submitted by Jared at: August 24, 2009
As a resident of Maine all my life, this bridge has special meaning to me. This is the bridge where me and my dad would drive over to board our boat on the NH side and spend almost every weekend fishing and boating. When we would dock the boat we would go across the bridge to Badger's Island in ME and stop in the local fish shop to grab more bait before heading along the back roads for home. Along the way I would look around and marval at the scenes of Kittery, Eliot and South Berwick. Without this bridge, many people wil not have the opportunity to visit the historic towns of Portsmouth and Kittery. If this bridge is destroyed, it will bring down countless memories that good people have along with a memorial to all the men who gave their lives in the "War To End All Wars."
Submitted by Gothamgirl at: August 18, 2009
Born on the Shipyard, traveled the bridge often throughout childhood -- my sister called it "the Singing Bridge" for the sound the car tires made traveling over the metal grate surface (now paved). Have the governors or DOT departments posted the reports showing analysis of how demolishing this bridge and building new is more cost effective than simply caring for the existing bridge?
Submitted by Lizzie at: July 9, 2009
Having grown up in this area, the Memorial Bridget is a local landmark in New England and is one of the features of Portsmouth that makes it a remarkable seaside town. It would be an absolute crime to replace it with something more modern. In a recent trip back to Portsmouth I could not believe the number of new building projects that are taking place with no regard to the historic fabric of this area. It doesn't seem logical that restoring this bridge would be far more expensive than demolishing it and building again. There must be a solution that means the bridge will be preserved and both the Maine and NH budgets will not drained.
Submitted by cheesey at: June 18, 2009
memorial Bridge rocks
Submitted by cheesey at: June 12, 2009
The Memorial Bridge is considered to be very important to a very large amount of people. This is because it is a very important memorial for people who have lost relatives or friends to World War 1. This was constructed between 1920and 1923 during World War 1 to honour the memory of those who gave there lives for their country. Another reason why it is important is because it is still used as a fully functional bridge that transports lots of people from place to place. But due to its condition it can’t support a vehicle that weighs over 20 tons but thanks to the U.S. Government they have launched a program to repair it where it needs to be repaired to make it be able hold more weight. But it will cost a lot more to demolish The Memorial Bridge that to Repair it.
Submitted by Cheesey at: June 12, 2009
You can't demolish Memorial Bridge as it represents all of the brave soldiers that gave their lives for their country in Worls War 1.If you do you will be upsetting many Americans.