The New Hampshire Department of Transportation has awarded a $50.3 million dollar contract to Cianbro to construct a new bridge spanning the Piscataqua River between Dover and Newington. Cianbro's Estimating Team says the new bridge will be 1,639 feet long with eight drilled shaft piers, cast in place columns, and caps. The bridge will also feature a steel girder superstructure and a cast-in-place deck. 

The new bridge will rise beside another span that Cianbro built on the site in the 1960s, known as the "Little Bay Bridge," which takes the Spaulding Turnpike across the river. Also on site is an older span called the General Sullivan Bridge, which now serves pedestrians and sport fishermen. The new Little Bay Bridge will be located between the two existing bridges, and will eventually interlock with the 1960s bridge to double the capacity of the transportation corridor over the river. The DOT's long term plans include renovations to the existing turnpike bridge. Cianbro's contract focuses on the construction of the new bridge, while contracts for major road building and approach work will be decided next year. The company is expected to complete the bridgework by November of 2013. The project will get underway late this year or early 2011.