Charles M. Braga Jr. Memorial Bridge

Stretching across the Taunton River between Fall River and Somerset, the Charles M. Braga Jr. Memorial Bridge is one of the most recognizable structures on the city’s waterfront. Its steel framework carries Interstate 195 high above the water, connecting communities across southeastern Massachusetts. Opened in 1966, the bridge became an important part of the region’s transportation network.

The bridge’s name preserves a more personal history. Charles M. Braga Jr. was a young sailor from Fall River, the son of a local millworker. A Navy yeoman second class, he was serving aboard USS Pennsylvania at Pearl Harbor when Japanese forces attacked on December 7, 1941. He was twenty-two years old when he was killed.

Braga’s death brought the war directly into the life of his family and hometown. Decades later, naming the new bridge in his honor placed his memory within the daily routines of the community. His name became associated with a crossing used by generations of residents, workers, and travelers.

Construction began in 1959, and the bridge opened to traffic on April 15, 1966. Its elevated roadway and long approaches changed the appearance of Fall River’s waterfront, introducing a major highway crossing into a landscape already shaped by mills, wharves, railroads, and shipping. The bridge strengthened regional connections while becoming a defining feature of the city’s skyline.

Seen from the river, the repeating steel trusses and tall concrete supports reveal the scale of that undertaking. Beneath the span lies a waterfront where transportation, industry, and naval remembrance meet. The bridge itself serves two enduring purposes: carrying people across the Taunton River and preserving the name of a Fall River sailor whose life ended far from home.