PORTSMOUTH, N.H. — The Sarah Long Bridge reopened to vehicular traffic Sunday night.

Ted Talbot, spokesman for the Maine Department of Transportation, said tests done on the drawbridge and roadway earlier in the day demonstrated the bridge was safe to reopen.

It had orginally been thought that the Piscataqua River bridge would not be ready to reopen until Monday morning, but Talbot said the bridge reopened at 7 p.m.

The 73-year-old bridge was shut down Wednesday after the drawbridge got stuck in the up position during a routine test. The bridge connects Route 1 Bypass traffic traveling between Kittery and Portsmouth.

Talbot said the Sarah Long Bridge is scheduled to be replaced in 2014. The estimated cost of replacing the bridge is about $170 million.