Fall River’s Braga Bridge Is Celebrating 50 Years

For how many years has the Braga Bridge been under construction since it’s conception?

According to The Herald News, yesterday marked 50 years when more than 20,000 people walked across the Braga Bridge for the very first time. It was Easter Sunday, April 10^th 1966. It was a big deal, a huge event for the city and it’s surrounding towns. April 15^th, this coming Friday will mark the 50^th anniversary of being opened to traffic for the bridge.

Since then, there have been many construction projects throughout the years that have cause delays for traffic crossing the bridge on both sides. With the bridge being just over a mile in length and the main source of travel for people traveling to and from Swansea, Somerset and Providence, New Bedford and Cape Cod, resident say it’s been a long time since they’ve had all 3 lanes open.

In fact, the painting project on the Braga Bridge which began in 2010 that was only expectd to last through 2011, is still ongoing.  The various construction projects have totaled roughly 12 plus years out of the bridges 50 in existence.  Some are not bothered by the construction saying that they are still pretty fortunate to be able to get across it fairly quickly.

So as you pass over the Braga Bridge this week, take a moment to think back to what it might have been like to walk the mile long trek on a warm, sunny Easter Sunday 50 years ago.