Lawmakers and city planners on the Seacoast are suggesting widening the Underwood Bridge on Ocean Blvd in Hampton. That’s after a driver hit four cyclists on the bridge last month.
Senator Nancy Stiles of Hampton wants to see an engineering study of the Neil Underwood Bridge on the Hampton/Seabrook line. She says as pedestrian, bicycle and automobile traffic increases, a two-lane bridge may no longer be sufficient.
State Representative Fred Rice, also of Hampton, agrees. At a meeting last Tuesday, he pointed out that the bridge is a nuclear evacuation route, so backed up traffic could cause very serious problems.
Stiles says the state has almost $7 million remaining for repairs to the bridge, after an initial rehabilitation that began in 2008. The Neil Underwood Bridge is one of the state’s top red-listed bridges.