Braga Bridge | |
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Braga Bridge from Somerset, MA, with its 2011 blue paint job | |
Coordinates | 41°42′23.62″N 71°09′56.51″W / 41.7065611°N 71.1656972°W |
Carries | ![]() |
Crosses | Taunton River |
Locale | Somerset and Fall River, Massachusetts |
Official name | Charles M. Braga Jr. Bridge |
Characteristics | |
Design | Continuous through truss, single intersection Warren truss with verticals. Approach spans are plate girders.[1] |
Total length | 5,780 feet (1,760 m)[1] |
Width | 101.3 feet (30.9 m)[1] |
Height | 254 feet (77 m) (Height of towers) |
Longest span | 840 ft (256 m)[1] |
Clearance below | 135 feet (41 m)[1] |
History | |
Construction cost | $22 million |
Opened | 1966, 1989 |
Statistics | |
Daily traffic | 80,000 - 100,000 vehicles per day |
Location | |
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The Charles M. Braga Jr. Memorial Bridge, also known as the Braga Bridge, or simply, The Braga, is a through truss bridge that carries Interstate 195 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, The Braga Bridge spans 1.25 miles (2.01 km) and is one of the longest bridges in Massachusetts. Opened to traffic on April 15, 1966,[2] it provides an important link between Providence, Rhode Island, Fall River, New Bedford, and Cape Cod.