Memorial Bridge (Portsmouth, New Hampshire)

World War I Memorial Bridge
The new Memorial Bridge
Coordinates	43°04′46″N 70°45′09″W / 43.07938°N 70.75255°W / 43.07938; -70.75255Coordinates: 43°04′46″N 70°45′09″W / 43.07938°N 70.75255°W / 43.07938; -70.75255
Carries	US 1
Crosses	Piscataqua River
Locale	Portsmouth, NH and Kittery, ME
Official name	The Bridge Memorial to Sailors and Soldiers of New Hampshire who gave their lives in World War I
ID number	021702470008400
Characteristics
Design	Vertical-lift bridge
Total length	366.1 m (1,201 ft)
Width	8.5 m (27.9 ft)
Longest span	91.5 m (300 ft)
Clearance below	39.6 m (129.9 ft) (Lift span open)
History
Opened	August 8, 2013
Statistics
Toll	None

The World War I Memorial Bridge is a vertical-lift bridge that carries U.S. Route 1 across the Piscataqua River between Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and Badger's Island in Kittery, Maine, United States. The current bridge was opened in 2013, replacing a bridge of similar design that existed from 1923 to 2012. A large overhead plaque facing traffic on the bridge reads "Memorial to the Sailors and Soldiers of New Hampshire who gave their lives in the World War 1917–1919."

The lift span can be fully opened to allow large commercial vessels to pass. During summer, the lift section remains partially elevated every half-hour between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. for about 15 minutes. This allows smaller commercial and recreational boat traffic. The bridge is currently the only one of the three Piscataqua River bridges with provisions for pedestrians and bicycles. New Hampshire and Maine designated the bridge as part of their State Bicycle Routes, and the bridge is part of the proposed East Coast Greenway.

Constructed between 1920 and 1923, the original Memorial Bridge was the first without toll to span the Piscataqua between Portsmouth and Kittery. The bridge was constructed as a joint venture between the states of Maine and New Hampshire and the federal government. It was dedicated as a World War I memorial.

The opening ceremony for Memorial Bridge was held on August 17, 1923. Five-year old Eileen Foley cut the ceremonial silk ribbon to officially open the bridge. Foley would later serve as mayor of Portsmouth for eight terms from 1968-1971, 1984-1985 and 1988-1997. In August 2013, she returned to dedicate the bridge's replacement 90 years later.

Originally, the road over the bridge was part of New England Interstate Route 1, also known as the Atlantic Highway. When the New England routes were superseded by the United States Numbered Highways in 1926 it was redesignated as US 1.