Kittery bridge closings pushed later into the night to accommodate tourists

The Maine Department of Transportation is adjusting its nightly start times to construction work on the Sarah Mildred Long Bridge connecting Kittery with Portsmouth, N.H., to accommodate the traffic of tourists making the interstate treks.

Here’s the MDOT’s updated news release on the bridge closings, as well as its new daily closing schedules:

MaineDOT has decided to adjust the scheduled closing times of the Sarah Mildred Long Bridge on Saturday and Sunday evenings to better accommodate tourists and area businesses. The bridge will now be closed to traffic beginning at 9 p.m., rather than 8 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday evenings. All other closing times throughout the week will remain the same.

The Sarah Mildred Long Bridge connecting Kittery, ME and Portsmouth, NH, started closing nightly on July 5th for safety repairs, with completion slated for August 1st. Crews are installing prefabricated steel barriers as a supplemental safety measure due to the corroded guardrail along the length of the bridge.

Detour signs and message boards guide motorists on either end of the bridge to the alternate routes.

The bridge will be closed to all traffic during the following days and times:

  • Monday: Beginning at 10 p.m., ending Tuesday at 5 a.m.
  • Tuesday: Beginning at 10 p.m., ending Wednesday at 5 a.m.
  • Wednesday: Beginning at 10 p.m., ending Thursday at 5 a.m.
  • Thursday: Beginning at 10 p.m., ending Friday at 5 a.m.
  • Friday: Beginning at 10 p.m., ending Saturday at 8 a.m.
  • Saturday: Beginning at 9 p.m., ending Sunday at 9 a.m.
  • Sunday: Beginning at 9 p.m., ending Monday at 5 a.m.
Seth Koenig

About Seth Koenig

Seth has nearly a decade of professional journalism experience and writes about the greater Portland region.