Brightman Street Bridge
Encyclopedia
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 town of Somerset
Somerset, Massachusetts
Somerset is a town in Bristol County, 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, 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...
, 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...
. 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.
At the time of its completion, it was the widest bridge to span the Taunton River, as the Slade's Ferry Bridge
Slade's Ferry Bridge
The Slade's Ferry Bridge was a steel swing double layered truss bridge that spanned the Taunton River between Somerset, Massachusetts and Fall River, Massachusetts. It carried rail traffic on top and included a swing span to allow river traffic through. It was built in 1875 and removed in 1970...
, 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
U.S. Route 6
U.S. Route 6 , also called the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, a name that honors an American Civil War veterans association, is a main route of the U.S. Highway system, running east-northeast from Bishop, California to Provincetown, Massachusetts. Until 1964, it continued south from Bishop to...
and Route 138
Route 138 (Massachusetts)
Route 138 is a north–south state highway in Massachusetts. From Milton, Route 138 runs south through the following towns/cities:* Canton * Stoughton...
to cross the river into Fall River. Now the Veterans Memorial Bridge (Bristol County, Massachusetts), just upstream, carries these routes between Somerset and Fall River.
Replacement and controversy
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, plans were put in place to replace the bridge with a new, higher and wider span 1500 feet (457.2 m) upriver, which would span from a proposed flyover intersection with Route 79Route 79 (Massachusetts)
Route 79 is a highway in southeastern Massachusetts. The route begins as a highway in Fall River before becoming a rural route.-Route description:...
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. 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 continued on this new bridge.
The most recent controversy involving the bridge does not involve the bridge work at all, but rather involves the proposed building of a LNG
Liquefied natural gas
Liquefied natural gas or LNG is natural gas that has been converted temporarily to liquid form for ease of storage or transport....
terminal at Weaver's Cove, just to the north of the new bridge.
In order to stop the LNG plan, community leaders pushed for keeping the bridge intact {O Jornal, Editorial, July, 2003}. This project has met with fierce opposition from the surrounding community, as well as federal, state and local leaders, including Representatives Jim McGovern
Jim McGovern
James Patrick "Jim" McGovern is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1997. He is a member of the Democratic Party....
and Barney Frank
Barney Frank
Barney Frank is the U.S. Representative for . A member of the Democratic Party, he is the former chairman of the House Financial Services Committee and is considered the most prominent gay politician in the United States.Born and raised in New Jersey, Frank graduated from Harvard College and...
, as well as Senators John Kerry
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
and Scott Brown
Scott Brown
Scott Brown is a United States senator.Scott Brown may also refer to:-Sportsmen:*Scott Brown , American college football coach of Kentucky State...
, all of whom have made appearances at various opposition rallies. The problems are twofold:
- For one, there is the belief that LNG tankers could be targets of terrorism, as an explosion of a tanker, whether on route or in port, could cause catastrophic damage and loss of life in the community.
- There is also the concern about LNG transportation requirements, which would involve the closing of not just the new bridge, but also the Braga Bridge, for several hours at a time, thus cutting off vital trade routes in the area.
All of this has led to a rather ironic campaign to keep the original bridge standing after the new one is completed. So far the campaign has been successful in keeping the old bridge standing, but whether or not it stops the LNG terminal from being built is still undetermined.
See also
- List of crossings of the Taunton River
- Veterans Memorial Bridge (Bristol County, Massachusetts)