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Route 79 is a
state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...
in southeastern
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...
. The route begins as a highway in
Fall River Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The City of Fall River's population was 94,000 at the 2020 United States Census, making it the tenth-largest city in the state. Located along the eastern shore of Mount H ...
also known as the Fall River Viaduct and Western Fall River Expressway before becoming a more rural route.


Route description

Route 79 begins south of the
Braga Bridge The Charles M. Braga Jr. Memorial Bridge, also known as the Braga Bridge, is a through truss bridge that carries Interstate 195 over the Taunton River between the town of Somerset and the city of Fall River, near the mouth of the Quequechan R ...
and
I-195 Interstate 195 (I-195) is the designation for the following Interstate Highways in the United States, all of which are related to I-95: *Interstate 195 (District of Columbia), a future designation for the north–south portion of I-395 from the Sout ...
, multiplexed with Route 138 as a surface four-lane
controlled-access highway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms i ...
. It has exits to Davol Street, which act as one-way
frontage road A frontage road (also known as an access road, outer road, service road, feeder road, or parallel road) is a local road running parallel to a higher-speed, limited-access road. A frontage road is often used to provide access to private drive ...
s on both sides of Route 79, and to the Veterans Memorial Bridge, at which point Route 138 leaves Route 79 and goes over the bridge. The route continues northward, passing under North Main Street with exit access to that street. It then connects to Route 24 at that route's exit 7. There is no access between Route 79 north and Route 24 south, or vice versa. The route continues concurrently along Route 24 into the Assonet section of the town of
Freetown Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and p ...
, where it leaves its concurrency at exit 11 (formerly 9), turning on to South Main Street. (South Main Street southbound in Assonet connects to North Main Street in Fall River.) The route passes through the village before turning eastward along Elm Street, intertwining with the Assonet River as both make their way into Berkley. In Berkley, Route 79 passes through the village of Myricks, in the far eastern end of the town. It crosses the
New Bedford Secondary The New Bedford Subdivision is a freight railroad line in the U.S. state of Massachusetts owned by the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority, with freight operations handled by the Massachusetts Coastal Railroad. The line runs from the end of the C ...
in Myricks, and
Route 140 Route 140 or Highway 140 may refer to: Australia * Hamilton Highway Canada * New Brunswick Route 140 * Ontario Highway 140 * Prince Edward Island Route 140 Costa Rica * National Route 140 (Costa Rica), National Route 140 Germany * Bundesautoba ...
just over the
Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...
line. In Taunton, the route follows along the Taunton- Lakeville town line before leaving Taunton completely. In Lakeville, the route heads through the northern part of the town, crossing Route 18 and passing the former Lakeville Hospital, before ending at a 4-way intersection with Route 105 and Commercial Drive (the entry to
Middleborough/Lakeville station Middleborough/Lakeville station is an MBTA Commuter Rail station in Lakeville, Massachusetts, just south of the Middleborough border. It is the southern terminus of the Middleborough/Lakeville Line; it is also an intermediate stop for seasonal ...
).


History

In 2012, the northern terminus of Route 79 was relocated. Before the project, the northern terminus of Route 79 still ended at Route 105, only 1/10 of a mile north of its current terminus, but it was too close to the southbound ramps for Interstate 495. By relocating Route 79 to a four-way intersection with Route 105 and Commercial Drive, traffic was eased during rush hour. Instead of Route 79 traffic looping onto Route 105 to get to the MBTA station, the new alignment provides easier access to the MBTA station from areas such as North Lakeville, East Taunton, Berkley and Freetown. The southern end of Route 79 used to be a double-decked elevated highway called the Fall River Viaduct, with ramps to Route 138 and
I-195 Interstate 195 (I-195) is the designation for the following Interstate Highways in the United States, all of which are related to I-95: *Interstate 195 (District of Columbia), a future designation for the north–south portion of I-395 from the Sout ...
. The viaduct continued northward under the Braga Bridge for a third of a mile before splitting into a surface four-lane highway. As part of a $3 billion effort to replace structurally deficient bridges in Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation replaced the Fall River Viaduct and some of its connector ramps to I-195 with new roadways and structures. The project was completed in 2016.


Major intersections

All interchanges south of Route 24 are unnumbered.


References

{{Reflist


External links


Route 79/Braga Bridge Improvements Project
079 79 may refer to: * 79 (number) * one of the years 79 BC, AD 79, 1979, 2079 * ''79 A.D.'', a 1962 historical epic film * Eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79, a catastrophic volcanic eruption in Italy See also

* * List of highways numbered {{Num ...
Transportation in Bristol County, Massachusetts Transportation in Plymouth County, Massachusetts