Why Dartmouth's Padanaram Bridge Was Closed to Traffic Today

SOUTH DARTMOUTH (WBSM) — Despite social media postings, there were no issues with the Padanaram Bridge in South Dartmouth today and everything is working fine.

However, it will be closed for maintenance for a time later this week.

Earlier today, as the New Bedford-Fairhaven Bridge was closed for a brief period due to a power outage, there was also about an hour where the Padanaram Bridge was closed to traffic.

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Some posted online that the bridge was closed because it was “stuck,” but Magnolia McComish, Communications Coordinator for the Town of Dartmouth, said that wasn’t the case.

Instead, it was some advance work ahead of Thursday’s planned closing for bridge maintenance. The bridge will be closed to traffic on July 11 from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

“This morning DPW was doing preliminary work in anticipation of the maintenance scheduled for Thursday,” McComish said. “At no point was the bridge stuck today.”

The Padanaram Bridge and Causeway reopened in June 2018 after a two-year, $8.27-million rehabilitation project and occasionally must close down briefly for routine maintenance.

In 2022, the Commonwealth announced a $2 million redesign of the nearly-90-year-old bridge.

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