The New Bedford Fairhaven Swing truss bridge

Good Morning, I hope your week is going well

I got out for a walk this morning, and took some shots of this bridge again, so that spurred me to do this post today, not photos from this morning walk, just importing them off the camera as I prepare this post

Something about the bridge from source
The New Bedford-Fairhaven Bridge is a swing truss bridge

The bridge is one of three bridges crossing the Acushnet River between the two communities. The entire four-lane stretch carries U.S. Route 6 between the two communities. A short, 500-foot-long (150 m) span crosses between the mainland of New Bedford just west of McArthur Drive to Fish Island, the smaller western island in the river. From there, after a 0.1-mile (0.16 km) stretch of highway connects the two spans, the main New Bedford-Fairhaven Bridge crosses from Fish Island to Pope's Island. This span includes the main span (see below). Once on Pope's Island, another 0.4-mile (0.64 km) stretch of highway connects to the third and longest span, a low, 0.2-mile (0.32 km) trestle bridge between Pope's Island and the town of Fairhaven, with the town line falling on the bridge. The entire stretch is just over 1 mile (1.6 km) between the two shores.

While many maps include all three spans as one "New Bedford-Fairhaven Bridge", only the middle span between the two is the actual bridge. This span, which was built between 1897 and 1899, is the one that includes the 283.2-foot-long (86.3 m) swing truss across the main channel into the northern half of the harbor. The entire bridge, approaches included, is approximately 0.2 miles (0.32 km) long, with the swing span being mostly west of the center of the bridge. The bridge still opens on a regular basis, with daily openings to allow the fishing fleet in and out of the inner harbor

I know the bridge opening for boats to pass out and closing for vehicle traffic while it does is frustrating for many who regularly take that route, but personally, I always enjoy watching it open and close when I visit Popes Island

This is a shot I try for often when by the Bridge, catching the barrier lights in a long exposure as they go up or down

^{Sony A7iv 17mm F16 47 Sec ISO 100
Click here to view larger}

I think it is such a cool bridge, it's a shame there are plans to replace it, but I can understand it has had some many issues recently getting stuck and closed up traffic over it for hours or more at a time

^{Sony A7iv 17mm F11 10 Sec ISO 100
Click here to view larger}

the red line on the road is a car driving by while i was taking long exposures

^{Sony A7iv 21mm F11 6 Sec ISO 100
Click here to view larger}

and a last shot to finish off the post

^{Sony A7iv 22mm F11 15 Sec ISO 100
Click here to view larger}

And that’s all folks

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unless stated otherwise all photos used in my posts are taken and owned by myself, if you wish to use any of my images please contact me.

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