Berkley–Dighton Bridge

Berkley-Dighton Bridge
Berkley-Dighton Bridge
	View from Berkley shore, October 2015
Coordinates	41°50′5.83″N71°6′29.28″W / 41.8349528°N 71.1081333°W Coordinates: 41°50′5.83″N71°6′29.28″W / 41.8349528°N 71.1081333°W
Carries	vehicular and pedestrian traffic
Crosses	Taunton River
Locale	Berkley and Dighton, Massachusetts
Preceded by	Weir St. Bridge
Followed by	Veterans Memorial Bridge
Characteristics
Design	concrete arch bridge with closed spandrels
Total length	approximately 350 feet (110 m)
Width	32 feet (9.8 m)
Longest span	2 × 92 feet (28 m)
No. of spans	4
Clearance below	12 feet (3.7 m)
History
Construction start	July 2012 [1]
Construction end	August 2015 [2]
Replaces	Berkley–Dighton Bridge (1896)
	Berkley-Dighton Bridge Location in Massachusetts

Last updated March 14, 2019

The fourth Berkley–Dighton Bridge is a four-span concrete arch bridge with closed spandrel walls of cast-in-place concrete, using pile-supported abutments and piers. The bridge was made such that it appears to be constructed of stone masonry rather than concrete. The two end spans are 74 feet (23 m) and the two center spans are 92 feet (28 m) for a total bridge length of approximately 350 feet (110 m).^[3]^[4]

Arch bridge bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch

An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either side. A viaduct may be made from a series of arches, although other more economical structures are typically used today.

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. From there it meanders through the towns of Halifax, Middleborough and Raynham, through the city of Taunton for which it is named, the towns of Berkley, Dighton, Somerset, and the Assonet section of Freetown, to Fall River where it joins Mount Hope Bay, an arm of Narragansett Bay.

The Veterans Memorial Bridge is a bascule bridge connecting Somerset, Massachusetts and Fall River, Massachusetts. The bridge carries U.S. Route 6 and Route 138 over the Taunton River, with connecting ramps to Route 79, and includes a bike path on its north side. The $290 million bridge was dedicated to area veterans on September 11, 2011. The bike path was also dedicated in a separate ceremony that same day in honor of Pvt. Michael E. Bouthot, who was killed in action in Iraq in 2006.

Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The City of Fall River is located approximately 53 miles (85 km) south of Boston, 17 miles (27 km) southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, 20 miles (32 km) south of Taunton, 12 miles (19 km) west of New Bedford, 20 miles (32 km) north of Newport, Rhode Island, and 200 miles (320 km) northeast of New York City. The City of Fall River's population was 87,103 at the 2010 census, making it the tenth-largest city in the state.

Beginning in August 2010, a temporary bridge was in place while the new bridge was being built. Construction on the bridge began in July 2012.^[1] The new bridge opened to traffic on August 28, 2015.^[2]^[4]

History

The first bridge at the site was built in 1801. There was no bridge on the site from 1853 to 1873. The third bridge was dedicated in 1896 and demolished in 2010. A temporary bridge served from 2010 to 2015. The current bridge opened to traffic on August 28, 2015^[2]^[4]

The third Berkley–Dighton Bridge was a paved one-lane swing-span bridge connecting the towns of Berkley and Dighton, Massachusetts. Built in 1896, it was the third at that location, and was demolished in September and October 2010.

Proposals for the new bridge were discussed for many years, starting no later than 1975. The Massachusetts Highway Department (MHD) replaced the third Berkley–Dighton Bridge because it was seriously structurally deficient, its swing span gears often jammed in the open position, forcing travelers miles to the north or south, and due to the inability for the bridge to handle emergency vehicles. The MHD estimates (2001 data) that 6,200 cars crossed the bridge each day. Bridge upgrade plans were met with opposition for a variety of reasons, including concerns about the impact on local traffic. Commercial trucks were not allowed to use the old bridge. Also, the traffic lights were only triggered by cars stopping on a line in the road. This was very problematic for people not familiar with the bridge.

The Massachusetts Highway Department was the highway department in the U.S. state of Massachusetts from 1991 until the formation of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) in 2009.

NIMBY, or Nimby, is a characterization of opposition by residents to a proposed development in their local area. It often carries the connotation that such residents are only opposing the development because it is close to them, and that they would tolerate or support it if it were built farther away. The residents are often called Nimbys, and their viewpoint is called Nimbyism.

The current bridge is a fixed structure, consisting of four pre-cast arch spans with closed spandrel walls of cast-in-place concrete, with approximately the same footprint as the previous bridge, using pile-supported abutments and piers. The finished bridge was made such that it appears to be constructed of stone masonry rather than concrete. The two end spans are 74 feet (23 m) and the two center spans are 92 feet (28 m) for a total bridge length of approximately 350 feet (110 m).^[3]^[4] In Fall 2014, the arches were built from segments trucked in. The arches are ten segment widths wide and were brought in as half-arches.^{[ citation needed ]}

A deep foundation is a type of foundation that transfers building loads to the earth farther down from the surface than a shallow foundation does to a subsurface layer or a range of depths.

Masonry is the building of structures from individual units, which are often laid in and bound together by mortar; the term masonry can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are brick, building stone such as marble, granite, travertine, and limestone, cast stone, concrete block, glass block, and adobe. Masonry is generally a highly durable form of construction. However, the materials used, the quality of the mortar and workmanship, and the pattern in which the units are assembled can substantially affect the durability of the overall masonry construction. A person who constructs masonry is called a mason or bricklayer. These are both classified as construction trades.

The bridge is wider than the previous bridge by a total of approximately 12 feet (3.7 m), split between both sides of the old bridge, for a total of 32 feet (9.8 m) defined as two traffic lanes plus a 5.5-foot (1.7 m) sidewalk on the south (downstream) side of the bridge, similar to the previous bridge. A minimum of 12-foot (3.7 m) vertical clearance must be maintained from the mean high water line at the main span, requiring the roadway to be raised approximately 8.25 feet (2.51 m) higher than its previous level. Other improvements include ADA-compliant sidewalks, wheelchair ramps, and driveway transitions, as well as better drainage, curbing, signage, guardrail, and pavement markings.^[3]

Temporary bridge

A temporary one-lane bridge was provided during construction to the south of the permanent bridge site. The temporary bridge had improved weight capacity, allowing emergency vehicles to use it.^[3] This bridge opened on August 16, 2010.^[5] The structure was a 3rd generation Bailey bridge.^[5]^[6] Once the main bridge opened, the temporary bridge was removed.

External links

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References

1 2 Herald News, July 24, 2012
1 2 3 Schuler, Rory (28 August 2015). "BRIDGE OPEN: Dighton and Berkley joined by two lanes over water once again". The Herald News. Gatehouse Media. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
1 2 3 4 Anderson, David R. (Acting Chief Engineer) (2007-09-18). Design Public Hearing at Dighton-Rehoboth Regional High School on Tuesday, September 18, 2007 for the proposed replacement of the Elm Street/Center Street Bridge (no. B-08-001=D-08-11) over Taunton River (Berkley-Dighton Bridge) in the Towns of Berkley and Dighton. MassHighway.
1 2 3 4 MassHighway district 5. "BERKLEY-DIGHTON- BRIDGE REPLACEMENT, B-08-001=D-08-011, ELM STREET (BERKLEY) CENTER STREET (DIGHTON) OVER THE TAUNTON RIVER". Archived from the original on April 20, 2009. Retrieved December 5, 2008.
1 2 Temporary bridge project page Archived April 20, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
↑ 700XS Acrow Bridge

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[constructbegin-1] 1 2 Herald News, July 24, 2012

[open-2] 1 2 3 Schuler, Rory (28 August 2015). "BRIDGE OPEN: Dighton and Berkley joined by two lanes over water once again". The Herald News. Gatehouse Media. Retrieved 29 August 2015.

[pamphlet2007-3] 1 2 3 4 Anderson, David R. (Acting Chief Engineer) (2007-09-18). Design Public Hearing at Dighton-Rehoboth Regional High School on Tuesday, September 18, 2007 for the proposed replacement of the Elm Street/Center Street Bridge (no. B-08-001=D-08-11) over Taunton River (Berkley-Dighton Bridge) in the Towns of Berkley and Dighton. MassHighway.

[project-4] 1 2 3 4 MassHighway district 5. "BERKLEY-DIGHTON- BRIDGE REPLACEMENT, B-08-001=D-08-011, ELM STREET (BERKLEY) CENTER STREET (DIGHTON) OVER THE TAUNTON RIVER". Archived from the original on April 20, 2009. Retrieved December 5, 2008.

[tempbridge-5] 1 2 Temporary bridge project page Archived April 20, 2009, at the Wayback Machine

[acrow-6] 700XS Acrow Bridge