PORTSMOUTH — Hundreds gathered on the edge of Memorial Bridge Saturday as the historic lifespan came full circle. Former Mayor Eileen Foley led a special part of a day of events when she tied a ribbon she cut 88 years ago to open the bridge in 1923, at just 5 years old. Now 93, Foley said she remembers that August day.

PORTSMOUTH — Hundreds gathered on the edge of Memorial Bridge Saturday as the historic lifespan came full circle.



Former Mayor Eileen Foley led a special part of a day of events when she tied a ribbon she cut 88 years ago to open the bridge in 1923, at just 5 years old. Now 93, Foley said she remembers that August day.



“Oh look at me,” Foley said as she looked at a picture of herself that day, showing her standing in front of dignitaries. “It was so wonderful to have this. After all these years, to think they still remember. I remember and that's the way it is here in Portsmouth. Thank you for this afternoon, I'll never forget it.”



Much like 88 years ago, the ribbon tying-off ceremony to bid farewell to Memorial Bridge drew state and local officials including Mayor Tom Ferrini, City Manager John Bohenko, Portsmouth and Kittery, Maine, council members, and state Sen. Nancy Stiles, R-Hampton, and state Sen. Dawn Hill, D-York, Maine. Gov. John Lynch was slated to attend but could not.



The bridge opened in 1923 in honor of the sailors and soldiers of New Hampshire who fought in World War I. Many remarked how Portsmouth is a city steeped in history.



“It's the circle of life. We had the life cycle of a bridge embodied in the life of a young girl, now a grandmother,” said Ben Porter of the Save Our Bridges group.



Memorial Bridge is now slated to be replaced, a process expected to last two years. N.H. Department of Transportation Commissioner Chris Clement said the bidding process for the project will wrap up in the coming weeks. The DOT plans to present a proposal to Gov. Lynch and the Executive Council at the end of November or early December, he said.



Part of the criteria, Clement said, is that the newly designed bridge fits with the historic nature of the city. “It's likely that the new bridge will be very similar in the way it looks,” he said of Memorial Bridge.



Many factors are yet to be determined, Porter said, such as when the existing bridge will close to pedestrian traffic and what the alternatives will be during that time frame.



While the process of getting to Saturday has been an up and down one, Porter said it was a day of celebration. “If you asked me if I thought we were going to be here two years ago, I would have said I didn't think so,” he said. “This is so cool.”



Mayor Ferrini spoke of the bridge's ability to link Kittery and Portsmouth. “We have progress, we have funds, and we have an opportunity to reconnect. Let's remain connected,” he said.



Sen. Stiles recalled driving over the bridge as a young girl visiting her father at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, where he worked as a mason. “In a way it's a sad day. In a way it's a good day,” she said.



“People have a lot of memories of this bridge and it's appropriate to say a nice, warm goodbye.”