PORTSMOUTH, N.H. (AP) – A drawbridge connecting New Hampshire and Maine should reopen sooner than had been expected, after Maine officials located spare underwater electrical cables.

A major underwater cable on the Sarah Mildred Long Bridge failed last month and state officials said it could take five months to fix it: 120 days to make a new cable and 30 days for additional bridge repairs.

But state Department of Transportation spokesman Bill Boynton said Friday things are looking up. He said engineers from Cianbro, of Pittsfield, should have an estimate of when the repairs can be completed by early next week.

“It’s a much more optimistic picture in terms of what this will likely entail,” Boynton said.

The bridge carries U.S. Route 1 Bypass traffic over the Piscataqua River between Portsmouth and Kittery, Maine. After the cable failed, crews raised the center section of the bridge using an emergency generator so larger boats could continue navigating the river.

Three bridges connect Portsmouth and Kittery, and traffic has been rerouted to the other two.

That’s been little consolation to Portsmouth merchants and Kittery merchants whose stores line the approach to the Long Bridge, however. Several said say they have lost more than half their business since the closure.

To help those on the New Hampshire side, the state is building a connector road between Market Street Extension and Route 1 Bypass southbound at a cost of $140,000. It should be completed next month, Boynton said.

The temporary cables will not provide a permanent fix for the drawbridge, but will give the state time to consider whether to install a new, permanent cable or find another solution, Boynton said.