PORTSMOUTH, N.H. (AP) — Transportation officials are optimistic that a bridge connecting New Hampshire and Maine hasn’t sustained any structural damage after an oil tanker struck a pier supporting the span.
Foster’s Daily Democrat reported (http://bit.ly/1ctf9Dt) officials are awaiting the results of an underwater inspection by divers Tuesday of the Memorial Bridge.
The 600-foot Seapride struck the pier on the Maine side of the channel on Friday. The vessel was outbound on the Piscataqua River after offloading diesel fuel at the Sprague Oil terminal in Newington. The ship had some damage to its hull, but did not suffer damage to its watertight compartments.
The cause of the accident is still not known.
The $81.4 million bridge opened to traffic in August. It carries Route 1 traffic between Portsmouth and Kittery, Maine.
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