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Some Facts About New Hampshire’s Infrastructure:New Hampshire has approximately 17,000 miles of state and town roads, turnpikes and interstate highways. There are 3,795 bridges in the state. As of 2010, the New Hampshire Department of Transportation plowed more than 800 lane miles of roads and put down 180,000 tons of salt for snow and ice control annually.The state was given a “C” grade by the American Society of Civil Engineers for the condition of its roads and bridges. New Hampshire was rated among the worst in the country for the poor condition of its bridges by Transportation For America. On average, bridges are older in New Hampshire than those in the rest of the country. There are hundreds of bridges on the so-called “red list,” which means that the bridges have major structural problems and need to be repaired or replaced.The state also has a poor record when it comes to public transportation. New Hampshire has no comprehensive rail system and is rated 42nd in terms of investment in public transportation according to the State Department of Transportation.The majority of New Hampshire’s infrastructure funding comes from vehicle registration fees and gas taxes. The state takes out fewer bond loans than other states and considers its funding a “pay as you go” system. The gas tax, the lowest in New England, has not been raised since 1991. The 2011 Legislature did away with a motor vehicle fee increase. That change has meant more $30 million a year in cuts to DOT.The $800 million expansion of I-93 from Salem to Manchester began in 2006, but has been delayed several times because of a lack of funding. Supporters of the expansion say it will update one of the country’s most congested highways and bring needed tourism revenue to the more isolated and less economically robust northern part of the state. Traffic on I-93 has increased 600 percent since the highway was built in the 1960s and approximately 80,000 cars now drive on it each day.Summary provided by StateImpact NH

Sarah Long Bridge Breaks In Frigid Temperatures

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Flickr Creative Commons

1/24/13 AP Update: 

Work has started to fix a lift bridge between New Hampshire and Maine that had gotten stuck and caused traffic problems along the seacoast.

The work could take up to two days. Conditions weren't optimal: Workers started at 7 a.m. Thursday in subzero weather. By noon, it got up to 12 degrees in Portsmouth.

Department spokesman Bill Boynton said authorities were performing a routine test on Sarah Long Bridge on Wednesday when it failed to close all the way, becoming stuck about a foot over the roadbed.

Officials don't know for sure whether the cold weather contributed to the problem.

The bridge carries the Route 1 Bypass over the Piscataqua River between Portsmouth and Kittery, Maine

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One of the two remaining bridges connecting Kittery, Maine to Portsmouth, New Hampshire is stuck. The bridge’s lift mechanism broke down with the bridge about a foot above the roadway. All traffic trying to cross from Maine to New Hampshire must now be rerouted across the I-95 bridge, since both the Memorial and Sarah long bridges are out of service.

DOT Spokesman Bill Boynton says the Sarah Long Bridge was being lifted in order to quote “give it some exercise” in the cold weather, when it came out of skew. "It really has to be perfectly level in order to get back into place on the road-bed," Boynton says, "Getting out of skew is not unusual, what is unusual is that there is some damage associated with this particular problem."

Boynton says it’s not clear why the damage occurred, or how long before the bridge is operational again. But the bridge is slated to be replaced.

"It’s our number one red-listed bridge right now. It dates back to the early 1940s. It’s a lift bridge which gives it more moving parts." He says Maine and New Hampshire are working on finding the funds to fix the bridge, but haven't come up with them yet.

For NHPR news, I’m Sam EB

Sam Evans-Brown has been working for New Hampshire Public Radio since 2010, when he began as a freelancer. He shifted gears in 2016 and began producing Outside/In, a podcast and radio show about “the natural world and how we use it.” His work has won him several awards, including two regional Edward R. Murrow awards, one national Murrow, and the Overseas Press Club of America's award for best environmental reporting in any medium. He studied Politics and Spanish at Bates College, and before reporting was variously employed as a Spanish teacher, farmer, bicycle mechanic, ski coach, research assistant, a wilderness trip leader and a technical supporter.
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