PORTSMOUTH — For sale: Used bridge, as is.

Asking price: $1 with a 10 percent deposit. No cash.

The state Department of Transportation has put the Memorial Bridge up for sale using a notice that reads a bit like a Craigslist ad by someone looking to unload an old couch.

Even at a fire sale price and an offer of $2 million to help move the span connecting downtown to Kittery, Maine, officials aren't optimistic about their prospects.

After all, it is an 88-year-old bridge weighing more than 1 million pounds that was shut down to traffic last month because it was falling apart and couldn't safely carry cars anymore.

“I think the chances are zero, but it would be interesting to see if anybody could use any part of this for another type of transportation structure,” said Mark Richardson, administrator of the state DOT's bridge design bureau.

A new, $90-million bridge is scheduled to be built in the same place, but that won't open until sometime in 2014. If the current bridge isn't sold, it will likely be torn down in about a year to make room for the new one.

Putting the current bridge up for sale is required by law, dictated by federal guidelines for structures eligible for the National Register of Historic Structures, whereby officials must try and find another use for something before demolishing it.

Richardson said his agency has put numerous structures out for bid before, including some, like a concrete arch, that have just about no chance whatsoever of actually being bought. He can't remember the last time something sold.

“I don't know, because it's so very rare that we actually sell them,” he said.

And so it goes with the Memorial Bridge.

The bridge was considered the worst in the state when it was shuttered last month after an analysis of inspection data showed rust overcoming the structure to the point that numerous gusset plates, the vital parts connecting columns and girders, had holes in them. Now only pedestrians and bicycles can cross — and even too many of them on the bridge at once can raise fears.

Bill Boynton, the state DOT's spokesman, said some were concerned about spectators lingering on the bridge to watch this weekend's air show.

Simply put, the bridge isn't exactly in showroom condition.

Anyone or agency interested in the bridge would have to put forward a strong plan as to what it would do with the structure, including how it would be moved it and the cleanup afterward, Richardson said.

“The award of this historic bridge is not dependent on the highest bid,” reads the DOT ad for the bridge.

And the DOT can reject offers that don't adequately comply with historic preservation requirements.

“I haven't heard of anybody that's interested at all,” Richardson said. “I'd be very surprised.”

The state DOT is accepting bids until 2 p.m. on Aug. 25.

For more information, visit nh.gov/dot/org/projectdevelopment/environment/memorial_bridge.htm.