Brightman Street Bridge

The Brightman Street Bridge is a 922-foot (281 m) long, four-lane wide drawbridge spanning the Taunton River between the town of Somerset and the city of Fall River, Massachusetts. It was authorized in 1903 by the state legislature, and building took place between 1906 and 1908, when it opened full-time on October 10, 1908. It was closed to vehicular traffic on October 11, 2011.[2]

For other uses, see Brightman Street Bridge (disambiguation).
Brightman Street Bridge
The disused bridge in October 2020
Coordinates41°43′26.26″N 71°09′20.51″W
Carriesclosed to all traffic
CrossesTaunton River
LocaleSomerset to Fall River, Massachusetts
Characteristics
Designtwo-leaf bascule bridge
Total length922 ft
Longest span98 ft[1]
Clearance below27 ft
History
Construction start1906
Construction end1908
OpenedOctober 10, 1908
ClosedOctober 11, 2011[2]
Location

At the time of its completion, it was the widest bridge to span the Taunton River, as the Slade's Ferry Bridge, a steel swingspan bridge built in 1875 less than a quarter mile downriver, was barely a two lane bridge. It once served as the pathway for Route 6 and Route 138 to cross the river into Fall River. Now the Veterans Memorial Bridge, just upstream, carries these routes between Somerset and Fall River.

Replacement and controversy
The replacement bridge under construction (foreground) and the Brightman Street Bridge in 2010

With the age of the bridge becoming a problem, as well as the rising costs of necessary upkeep and maintenance, talk began circulating about replacing the bridge as early as the late 1970s and early 1980s. Starting in 1983,[3] plans were put in place to replace the bridge with a new, higher and wider span 1,500 feet (460 m) upriver, which would span from a proposed flyover intersection with Route 79 on the Fall River side, to a new access road through the former site of Slade's Ferry Park in Somerset.

Plans were put on hold in 1989, when the Coast Guard protested the size of the opening of the bridge. Once details were worked out, work began in the late 1990s, but again with delays. This was due to money being taken away from the project for the well-over budget Big Dig project in Boston.[1] Again the work was delayed until costs could be met. A third problem arose in 2008, when inspectors questioned the quality of the cement used in the main pilings for the bridge. This caused yet more delays as inspections and tests were needed on the piers. Construction has since been completed on this new bridge.

Around 2005, local officials pushed to keep the bridge intact even after its replacement was completed - as a way to stop the controversial LNG terminal to the north.[4]

See also

References
  1. http://www.srpedd.org/Ch7bridges.pdf
  2. "Requiem For A Bridge," Herald News, October 11 2011"
  3. "New bridge on schedule despite budget cutbacks," Herald News, 18 April 2002 Archived 28 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  4. "Obstacles keep hope alive for foes of Fall River LNG facility," Boston Globe, 22 Aug 2005.
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