A $25 million federal grant will subsidize the replacement of the aging Sarah Mildred Long Bridge, which connects Portsmouth, New Hampshire and Kittery, Maine.
The states applied for the grant together, which was awarded Monday.
In particular, the grant will fund the railroad tracks that go over the bridge along the route 1 bypass. These tracks are used by the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard to remove nuclear waste.
Bill Boynton with New Hampshire’s Department of Transportation says the two states received a similar federal transportation grant four years ago to fund the Memorial Bridge, "which is pretty amazing considering the intense competition at the national level."
The Sarah Mildred Long bridge has been rated structurally deficient. Maine and New Hampshire will split the cost of the $172 million dollar bridge replacement. Construction will begin next year and is scheduled to finish in 2017.
