Marine traffic will be prohibited in the Piscataqua River's navigable channel for one week next month as crews remove the center span of the now-closed Sarah Mildred Long Bridge.
The Portsmouth Herald reports the waterway will be closed from Oct. 10-16 according to the resident engineer for the Maine Department of Transportation's bridge replacement project.
The bridge connected Portsmouth to Kittery, Maine via the U.S. Route 1 Bypass before it malfunctioned last month. The span has since been locked in its open position and was closed permanently on Aug. 24.
Transportation officials expect to finalize the exact timing of the removal in coordination with the tides on Thursday.
The bridge's $158 million replacement is expected to open to traffic in September 2017.
