Please upgrade your browser or enable Javascript to navigate the interface properly. The Charles M. Braga Jr. Memorial Bridge , also known as the Braga Bridge , is a through truss bridge that carries Interstate over the Taunton River between the town of Somerset and the city of Fall River , near the mouth of the Quequechan River at the confluence with Mount Hope Bay.
At just over a mile long, it is one of the longest bridges in Massachusetts. History Planning began in the early s for a new bridge to ease the congestion of the nearby Slade's Ferry and Brightman Street Bridges , as well as to carry the proposed Cape Cod Expressway over the Taunton River. The original plan called for a "high level bridge" to be located much further north, near what is now the Veterans Memorial Bridge , with a highway passing through the north end of the city in a direct line to Wareham.
Construction of the bridge started in and finished in the spring of Herren as a college player became addicted to drugs. He played professionally for a few years, including a stint with the Boston Celtic. But his substance abuse grew worse, to the point where he overdosed on heroin. Today he is a recovering addict who coaches youth and gives motivational speeches about overcoming addiction.
The story of the Braga Bridge also did not end in It still looms over Fall River, but like the Fall River textile industry, in a sense its time has passed. The glory days of long-span cantilever truss construction peaked in the 60s.
Following that, cable-stayed spans gradually usurped the role of the cantilever bridges. Modern cable-stayed bridges were first developed in Germany and western Europe as a replacement for bridges destroyed in World War II. American bridge builders imported the design based on its cost efficiency and constructability. Today, cantilever truss spans for the most part no longer are built.
A trip down the Mississippi River illustrates the trend. From on U. Louis and then moving on to a series of more generic cantilever trusses. Many of the old bridges remain as legacy bridges, but they are gradually being replaced by new cable-stayed bridges.
Louis, carrying I over the Mississippi. This is a magnificent, elegant bridge, crossing just north of the Eads Bridge. Aerial photographs show the contrast between the old and the new. The bridge provides a modern and sleek bookend to the historic Eads bridge further south.
The new bridge features deep steel girder approach spans that gradually rise to the main span, twin cable-stayed bridges with tuning fork pylons. The old Goethals Bridge was a functionally obsolete cantilever truss built in with narrow travel lanes. But the Braga Bridge and the cantilever truss Tobin Bridge will probably remain in service for many years to come.
Both bridges have been the subject of recent reconstruction and painting projects. Overall, cantilever truss bridges have seen their day. The ones that remain in service tend to carry heavy traffic loads and are functionally obsolete. In the accounting debate of repair versus replace, cantilever trusses usually do not receive additional points for charm like covered bridges and other favored historic types. Tags: highway. This proposal would update road safety laws by implementing uniform standards and promoting proven strategies to reduce motor vehicle crashes, and will implement recommendations made by the Special Commission on Operating Under the Influence and Impaired Driving.
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