[Talk-us] Sarah Mildred Long Bridge Closed permanently (ME/NH)

[Bill Ricker]

Breaking news - pardon the pun -
   The lift bridge on US 1 Bypass between Portsmouth NH &  Kittery ME is
stuck in the up position. Permanently.
   It initially stuck "down", but they managed to get it up one last time
for a ship that wanted to exit port, by some expedient, but that killed
it.  It was scheduled to close permanently, to be scrapped, in just 10
weeks (November, at end of tourist season), with the under-construction
parallel replacement-span to bear the same name due to open Spring 2017.
   NHDOT & MeDOT considered fixing it one last time but after checking if
the jam, a problem they're rather too familiar with, was a hard or easy
jam, the cost for the short remaining life was deemed excessive.

Reference http://www.maine.gov/mdot/sml/


After waiting a day for a local to do so (after official declaration that
permanent closure was effective immediately), I have applied change-set

http://www.openstreetmap.org/changeset/41726297#map=16/43.0860/-70.7612
to mark the bridge's 3 ways -

   - access=no foot=official bicycle=no
   - note=CLOSED - mid section of bridge is a lifted roadway stuck in up
   position 2016-08-22. Permanently closed 10 weeks early, will not reopen.
   new bridge due to open spring 2017.
   - (except: foot=no, level=4 on center span stuck in UP position; if
   you're official enough to get up there, you don't need OSM to find it! )

For the under-deck​ rail-crossing Way 150771571, v11
<http://www.openstreetmap.org/way/150771571> I only gave it the same 'note'
above, it didn't have access= routing tags, it's rail (and for special
federal trains only these days i hear).

I have also added map notes, one closed, referencing the above change-set
on existing center span, and one open, at approximate offset of the new
span, referencing the  MDOT project page as a TBD next spring.

I'm open to constructive criticism on better tagging ... or fix it and
share why ; e.g.,

   - Should we split the nodes where ways at level=2 joins level=4 ?  I
   could argue that ...
   - Maybe splitting the rail way at the lift towers; if so, its center
   span would be level=3, below center lift level=4, above the approach span
   highway at level=2
   - I considered either foot=no or access=official for the approaches.
   Having seen routing try to jump from way to way if close enough, i
   decided foot=official was fair.
   *Knowing as I did someone who died in an ambulance when this bridge was
   up, i don't want to route anyone that way accidentally ! Never again.*

( I note the retractable section of railroad deck that allowed low boats to
pass one of the side spans was never mapped. Neat feature. )

( *Lest I be accused of strictly armchair mapping, as a once-and-future
Maine-iac, I know that bridge well by its old official name, "Interstate
Bridge" which is ironic as it was never an Interstate System bridge
officially though it used to connect two I-95 segments. Originally was 3
rather narrow lanes ... was hell with trailer mirrors mounted in 1970s!   I
was planning on making extensive use of it in just a couple weeks, while
dragging the GPS around the harbor defenses of Portsmouth harbor. I'll be
reloading the Garmin's NewEngland card after this change-set percolates
through !  I hope to add my Maine retirement home to the map in a year or
three, but first we need to build it ...* )


-- 
Bill Ricker
bill.n1vux at gmail.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/n1vux
​ <goog_176580647>http://www.openstreetmap.org/user/Bill%20Ricker
​ <http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/User:N1vux>
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