Foster's Daily Democrat 14 September 1999

Portsmouth bike bridge opening set Thursday

By GREG HEILSHORN
Staff Writer

PORTSMOUTH - It's more than just a convenient and safe way of traversing the Spaulding Turnpike.

The newly completed Rockingham Bike/Pedestrian Bridge just north of the Portsmouth Traffic Circle connects an entire network of bicycle routes in the Seacoast/Great Bay region. More directly, the $800,000 viaduct links Portsmouth back to Pease International Tradeport.

On Thursday at 4:30 p.m., city leaders and representatives of Seacoast Area Bicycle Routes Organization, the project's spearhead, will join the community to celebrate the official opening of the bridge - and recognize the successful completion of a project that was conceived five years ago as a means to address air quality.

"The access you can get to Pease is a real positive factor," said Karen Jacoby, a community development program manager for Portsmouth. "It opens up a lot of opportunities where you don't have to drive. That kind of opportunity is something that people need to find out about."

In the words of Community Development Director Cindy Hayden, the bridge is also an example of how the public and private sectors can work together to realize great things. Eighty percent of the money was secured through a grant obtained by the city and supported through the Pease Development Authority.

Funding for the other 20 percent of the project was provided by the PDA, the city of Portsmouth, the town of Newington, the Rotary Club of Portsmouth, SABR, the Portsmouth Bikeway Committee and numerous individuals.

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