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Charles M. Braga, Jr. Bridge

 

 
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Charles M. Braga, Jr. Bridge
 
 
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At just over a mile long, the Braga Bridge , also known as the Charles M. Braga Jr. Memorial Bridge, is one of the longest bridge structures in Massachusetts
Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a U.S. state located in the New England region of the Northeastern United States United States. It borders Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north....
. It carries Interstate 195
Interstate 195 (Rhode Island-Massachusetts)

Interstate 195 is an Interstate Highway running a combined 40.1 miles in the U.S. states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. It travels from a junction with Interstate 95 in Rhode Island in Providence, Rhode Island east to a junction with Interstate 495 and Route 25 in Wareham, Massachusetts....
 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, Massachusetts....
 between the town of Somerset
Somerset, Massachusetts

Somerset is a New England town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 18,234 at the 2000 census. It is the birthplace and hometown of Clifford Milburn Holland , the chief engineer and namesake of the Holland Tunnel in New York City....
 and the city of Fall River
Fall River, Massachusetts

Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is located about south of Boston, Massachusetts, southeast of Providence, Rhode Island and west of New Bedford, Massachusetts....
.

truction of the bridge started in 1959 and finished in the spring of 1966. The bridge was constructed to carry I-195 across the Taunton River on its way west to Providence
Providence, Rhode Island

Providence is the Capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island, and one of the first cities established in the United States....
.






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At just over a mile long, the Braga Bridge , also known as the Charles M. Braga Jr. Memorial Bridge, is one of the longest bridge structures in Massachusetts
Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a U.S. state located in the New England region of the Northeastern United States United States. It borders Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north....
. It carries Interstate 195
Interstate 195 (Rhode Island-Massachusetts)

Interstate 195 is an Interstate Highway running a combined 40.1 miles in the U.S. states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. It travels from a junction with Interstate 95 in Rhode Island in Providence, Rhode Island east to a junction with Interstate 495 and Route 25 in Wareham, Massachusetts....
 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, Massachusetts....
 between the town of Somerset
Somerset, Massachusetts

Somerset is a New England town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 18,234 at the 2000 census. It is the birthplace and hometown of Clifford Milburn Holland , the chief engineer and namesake of the Holland Tunnel in New York City....
 and the city of Fall River
Fall River, Massachusetts

Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is located about south of Boston, Massachusetts, southeast of Providence, Rhode Island and west of New Bedford, Massachusetts....
.

History

Construction of the bridge started in 1959 and finished in the spring of 1966. The bridge was constructed to carry I-195 across the Taunton River on its way west to Providence
Providence, Rhode Island

Providence is the Capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island, and one of the first cities established in the United States....
. The total span of the bridge is , and it goes over high water in the Taunton River to accommodate a high-traffic shipping lane in the river. It is approximately wide, wide enough to accommodate six lanes of traffic. It is named after Charles M. Braga, a Fall River native of Portuguese American
Portuguese American

Portuguese Americans are citizens of the United States whose ancestry originates in the southwest European nation of Portugal, including the offshore island groups of the Azores and Madeira....
 descent who died in the attack on Pearl Harbor
Attack on Pearl Harbor

The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Empire of Japan Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States' naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of Sunday, December 7, 1941, later resulting in the United States becoming militarily involved in World War II....
. As the Braga Bridge approached its 25th anniversary in 1989, the Massachusetts Department of Public Works (MassDPW) undertook a comprehensive two-year rehabilitation of the span and approaches. The project included the replacement of the existing deck with a new lightweight deck overlaid with bituminous
Bitumen

Bitumen is a mixture of organic compounds liquids that are highly viscous, black, sticky, entirely soluble in carbon disulfide, and composed primarily of highly condensed polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons....
 concrete
Concrete

Concrete is a construction material composed of cement as well as other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, construction aggregate , water , and Chemistry admixtures....
. Construction crews repaired and repainted structural steel along the length of the mile-long span, a new concrete Jersey barrier
Jersey barrier

A Jersey barrier or Jersey wall separates lanes of traffic with a goal of minimizing vehicle crossover in the case of accidents. They have also come into use as a means to keep car bombs away from perceived targets....
 was built in the center median, and "suicide fences" were built along the span.

In 2003, the Massachusetts Highway Department began what was to be a three-year, $9 million rehabilitation of the Braga Bridge. The scope of the work was similar to that of the 1989-1990 project, but the new top concrete layer of roadway was given a latex additive that resists water seepage and thus reduces cracking. Originally scheduled for completion in 2005, the end of the project was first re-scheduled for 2006 because of delays associated with the nearby Government Center project along I-195
Interstate 195 (Rhode Island-Massachusetts)

Interstate 195 is an Interstate Highway running a combined 40.1 miles in the U.S. states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. It travels from a junction with Interstate 95 in Rhode Island in Providence, Rhode Island east to a junction with Interstate 495 and Route 25 in Wareham, Massachusetts....
 in Fall River. As of May 2007, the Braga Bridge rehab remains far from complete, as does the Government Center rehab that delayed it.

See also

  • List of crossings of the Taunton River
    List of crossings of the Taunton River

    This is a list of bridges and other crossings of the Taunton River from its mouth at the Mount Hope Bay upstream to its source at the confluence of the Town River and Matfield River, near the Paper Mill Village neighborhood of the town of Bridgewater, Massachusetts....


External links