The third Berkley–Dighton Bridge was a paved one-lane swing-span bridge connecting the towns of Berkley

Berkley, Massachusetts

Berkley is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 5,749 at the 2000 census, making it the least populated town in the county.-Geography:...

 and Dighton

Dighton, Massachusetts

Dighton is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 6,175 at the 2000 census. The town is located on the western shore of the Taunton River in the southeastern part of the state.- History :...

, Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

. Built in 1896, it was the third at that location, and was demolished in September and October 2010.

Bridges at this location are the only crossing over the Taunton River

Taunton River

The Taunton River , is a river in southeastern Massachusetts in the United States. It arises from the confluence of the Town River and Matfield River, in the town of Bridgewater...

 between the Veterans Memorial Bridge in Fall River

Fall River, Massachusetts

Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is located about south of Boston, southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, and west of New Bedford and south of Taunton. The city's population was 88,857 during the 2010 census, making it the tenth largest city in...

 and the Weir Street Bridge in Taunton

Taunton, Massachusetts

Taunton is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the seat of Bristol County and the hub of the Greater Taunton Area. The city is located south of Boston, east of Providence, north of Fall River and west of Plymouth. The City of Taunton is situated on the Taunton River...

.

Since August 2010, a temporary bridge has been in use while the replacement bridge is built.

History

The first bridge at the site was built in 1801. There was no bridge on the site from 1853 to 1873.

The third bridge was dedicated in 1896 with Luther Dean as the engineer, substructure built by Beattie and Wilcox of Fall River, Massachusetts

Fall River, Massachusetts

Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is located about south of Boston, southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, and west of New Bedford and south of Taunton. The city's population was 88,857 during the 2010 census, making it the tenth largest city in...

, and superstructure built by R.F. Hawkins of Springfield, Massachusetts

Springfield, Massachusetts

Springfield is the most populous city in Western New England, and the seat of Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers; the western Westfield River, the eastern Chicopee River, and the eastern...

.

At one time, the bridge had two traffic lanes. However, the deterioration of the structure reduced the bridge's weight-bearing capacity, and traffic flow was restricted to one lane. Traffic over the bridge was controlled by a traffic signals on each side, which alternately allowed eastbound and westbound traffic to use the single lane. The road approaching the bridge from Dighton (eastbound) is known as Center Street; approaching from Berkley (westbound) it is known as Elm Street.

The 1896 bridge was 21.3 feet (6.5 m) wide, and stood seven feet above mean high tide. It had a posted weight limit of 3 short tons (2.7 MT) at the end of its useful life.

Proposals to replace the bridge were discussed for many years, starting no later than 1975. The Massachusetts Highway Department

Massachusetts Highway Department

The Massachusetts Highway Department was the former name of the highway department in the United States Commonwealth of Massachusetts from 1991 until it became the highway division of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation on November 1, 2009...

 (MHD) is now replacing the Berkley–Dighton Bridge because it was seriously structurally deficient, its gears often jamming in the open position, forcing travelers miles to the north or south, and the inability for the bridge to handle emergency vehicles. The MHD estimates (2001 data) that 6,200 cars crossed the bridge each day. Bridge upgrade plans met with opposition for a variety of reasons, particularly concerns about the impact on local traffic. Commercial trucks were not allowed to use this bridge. Also, the traffic lights were only triggered by cars stopping on a line in the road. This was very problematic for people not familiar with the bridge.

Opening the bridge

The towns of Dighton and Berkley paid a bridge tender to open the bridge as needed. Originally, the bridge was opened with a giant crank. The Dighton highway department installed a motor in the 1960s, though a tender was still required to grease the gears, unlock the bridge, remove some pins, and pull some switches to operate the mechanism.

New bridge

The replacement bridge will be a fixed structure, consisting of four pre-cast arch spans with closed spandrel walls of cast-in-place concrete, with approximately the same footprint as the previous bridge, using pile-supported abutments and piers

Deep foundation

A deep foundation is a type of foundation distinguished from shallow foundations by the depth they are embedded into the ground. There are many reasons a geotechnical engineer would recommend a deep foundation over a shallow foundation, but some of the common reasons are very large design loads, a...

. The finished bridge will be made such that it will appear to be constructed of stone masonry

Masonry

Masonry is the building of structures from individual units laid in and bound together by mortar; the term masonry can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are brick, stone, marble, granite, travertine, limestone; concrete block, glass block, stucco, and...

rather than concrete. The two end spans will be 74 feet (22.6 m) and the two center spans will be 92 feet (28 m) for a total bridge length of approximately 350 feet (106.7 m).

It will be widened a total of approximately 12 feet (3.7 m), split between both sides of the existing bridge, for a total of 32 feet (9.8 m) defined as two traffic lanes plus a 5.5 feet (1.7 m) sidewalk on the south side of the bridge, similar to the existing bridge. A minimum of 12 feet (3.7 m) vertical clearance must be maintained from the mean high water line at the main span, requiring the roadway to be raised approximately 8.25 feet (2.5 m) higher than its current level. Other improvements include ADA-compliant sidewalks, wheelchair ramps, and driveway transitions, as well as better drainage, curbing, signage, guardrail, and pavement markings.