The approach span to the Memorial Bridge stands now as rubble next to the former site of the Pier II Restaurant. The North Tower can be seen without its counterweight in the distance.
Tag: Deconstructing the Memorial
A Bridge Too Far
It’s funny how foreign the remaining parts of the Memorial Bridge now look in the midst of the Piscataqua River. With the South Tower, the lift span, and the Portsmouth approach gone from the scene, the remaining tower and abutment look distinctly out of place and completely functionless.
The South Span is Cut Free | Memorial Bridge
Progress on the deconstruction of the Memorial Bridge is swift. I left work not expecting to see much different, but sure enough – the south span of the Memorial Bridge had been cut from the approach in Portsmouth and was waiting for its final departure down to a scrap yard outside of Boston. I’m getting more excited to see things change, and to see the new bridge come to life.
X Marks the Spot | Removal of the South Tower
Much to my surprise, the south tower of the Memorial Bridge was in the process of being dismantled as I drove home for lunch. I grabbed a parking spot quickly, and hopped out in time to grab the “X Marks the Spot” photo above. The various pieces are being piled onto the Sterling Equipment barge as seen below. I love photography, and that sometime’s it’s about capturing a beautiful scene – and others it’s about documenting and capturing a moment in time that stands on its own free of editing, etc.
South Tower | Memorial Bridge
Today’s post is a memorial to the South Tower of the Memorial Bridge, which has since been cut to half its height, and will no longer exist in a matter of hours. The sky on the evening that this particular image was taken was very airy and cloudy, but I decided to give this shot a more somber processing to reflect the tower’s numbered days.
Deconstructing the Memorial | Counterweights
The deconstruction of the Memorial Bridge continues as the weather improves, with the massive counterweights as the next step in the process. This was taken on Friday after the process of cutting the counterweights into four pieces had begun, with the first piece already gone, and the remaining 3 chunks from this tower gone as of Monday morning. The red crane against the rich blue sky and the industrial grit of the bridge are just lovely. Can you notice the dent on one of the pieces of the abutment from the counterweight that fell?
Memorial Bridge Lift Span Heads Out to Sea
The Memorial Bridge Lift span has officially left the building (well, the seacoast…)! A stroke of pure timing had me heading down State Street in time to notice a helicopter overhead, and a crowd of people heading towards the waterfront. I decided to investigate – and was rewarded with the scene above. The lift span heading out towards Portsmouth Harbor.
I also decided to head to New Castle so I could see the bridge float past the Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse on the coast, and also past Whaleback out in the harbor. It’s nice to finally have closure on this portion of the project, and not worry about missing timeframes and capturing big moments. I’ve got a few more images featuring the Naval Prison and a better closeup of Whaleback – but until then, enjoy today’s images. Be sure to click them to see them large!
A Quiet Afternoon at The Memorial Bridge
Today’s image is a very simple, peaceful image of the Memorial Bridge in its final days. Closed to traffic and standing tall over the Piscataqua River, the bridge enjoys a nice view of the late day sky above. It’s a bit eerie to see that the Kittery side tower already had its rounded cable holders removed, already altering the bridge’s appearance beyond the obvious disappearance of the center span. Once I am able to get a post-worthy shot of the bridge in its current state, I’ll be sure to share with all.
The Memorial Bridge Lift Span in Prescott Park
The Memorial Bridge lift span was brought up to the State Pier when it was initially removed from its home. After a couple days of intrigue and restricted access for viewing, the span mysteriously showed up at Prescott Park and has been there for the weekend. It’s amazing to see it up close, especially some of the finer details like the incredibly frayed cables at the top of the corners of the span.
Reflections of the Memorial Bridge
I’m usually the kind of photographer to take a wide sweeping view of a scene to capture all of its glory. While I was watching the crew prepare the lift span of the Memorial Bridge for lowering onto the Cape Cod barge, I spent more time actually looking around to enjoy the little details of the day. The rich color and texture of the water in the cold winter air was beautifully reflecting the lift span during its last hours connected to the bridge. The dock provides some nice grounding for an otherwise abstract shot.
THE DAILY PORTSMOUTH 