Braga Bridge Lights Return as Testing Begins Tonight

FALL RIVER (WBSM) — The Braga Bridge will begin to light up once again beginning tonight, and many years and millions of dollars after the project began, it is finally in the home stretch.

Braga Bridge Lighting Testing Begins

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation announced this afternoon that tonight, testing would begin on the “newly-installed aesthetic lighting system” on the Braga Bridge, which connects Fall River and Somerset.

When Braga Bridge Light Testing Will Take Place

MassDOT said testing will take place nightly, Sunday night through Friday morning, between the hours of 8 p.m. and 5 a.m. now through Tuesday, March 31. The testing is anticipated to be completed by Wednesday morning, April 1.

“While the testing will have no direct impact on I-195 traffic, motorists should anticipate aesthetic light testing and possible color changes while driving over the Braga Bridge,” MassDOT said in a release.

A Project Years in the Making

The LED light project first began in 2022 with a price tag of $8 million. It has since ballooned to at least double that, in a multi-phase rollout.

When the bridge was first illuminated with temporary colored lights in just its center section back in May 2022, State Representative Carole Fiola told Fun 107 that it was at a luncheon with then-Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito that the project began in earnest.

READ MORE: Was the Money Needed to Light Fall River's Braga Bridge Worth It?

“I told her that we've wanted to light up the bridge for years. She said, 'Give me a few days to work on it.' A few days later she called back and said, 'We're going to get this done.'" Fiola said, noting that the initial light-up in May 2022 was “Phase I.”

That first phase was about 25 percent of the design contract, and limited to just seven colors, including the default “Braga blue.” Other colors included orange, white, yellow, pink, purple and teal, but only orange and blue were ever used. Future design plans called for unlimited color combinations.

In May 2024, those temporary lights came down and work began on the final installation.

READ MORE: Fall River Braga Bridge LED Lights Are Coming Down

“As many have noticed, the temporary lights on the Braga Bridge have been removed to be modified and retrofitted to fit the design of the new and final lighting that will adorn the bridge,” Fiola said at that time. “MassDOT District 5 let me know that the existing lighting will remain removed/disabled until such time that the permanent lighting is in place and energized. This has always been the plan. The time frame for the outage is expected to be until spring 2026 per the contractor’s schedule. I’m looking forward to seeing our bridge brightly lit with countless color combinations at that time.”

It appears that time has come.