Massachusetts Route 79

Route 79
Route 79 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by MassDOT
Length	18.47 mi[1] (29.72 km)
Major junctions
South end	I-195 / Route 138 in Fall River
Major intersections	US 6 in Fall River Route 24 from Fall River to Assonet Route 140 in Taunton
North end	Route 105 in Middleborough
Location
Counties	Bristol, Plymouth
Highway system
Massachusetts State Highway System Interstate US State
← Route 78 → Route 80

Route 79 is a 18.47-mile-long (29.72 km) state highway in southeastern Massachusetts. The route begins as a highway in Fall River 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 and I-195, multiplexed with Route 138 as a surface four-lane controlled-access highway. It has exits to Davol Street, which act as one-way frontage roads 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, 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 Old Colony Railroad lines and County Road, the former alignment of Route 140, before crossing the current route at Exit 16 (formerly 10) just over the Taunton 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 main road which leads to the Middleborough/Lakeville MBTA station.

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. 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.^[2]

Major intersections[]

All interchanges south of Route 24 are unnumbered.

County	Location	mi[1][3]	km	Old exit	New exit	Destinations	Notes
Bristol	Fall River	0.000	0.000	-	–	Route 138 south – North Tiverton, RI	Southern terminus; southern terminus of concurrency with Route 138; closed 2015-2016[2]
				-	–	I-195 – Providence, RI, New Bedford, Cape Cod	At-grade intersection with interchange ramps; exit 11 on I-195; closed 2015-2016[2]
		0.936	1.506	-	–	US 6 east / North Davol Street	Northbound exit and southbound entrance; southern terminus for 2015-2016[2]
		1.356	2.182	-	–	US 6 west / Route 138 north – North Fall River, Somerset	Northern terminus of concurrency with Route 138; to Veterans Memorial Bridge
		2.303	3.706	-	–	North Main Street – North Fall River
		3.769	6.066	-	7	Route 24 south to I-195 – Newport, RI	Southern terminus of Route 24 concurrency
		4.356	7.010	8A	8	Airport Road / North Main Street	Signed as exit 8 prior to 2012
	Assonet	5.756	9.263	8B	10	Innovation Way	Formerly Executive Park Drive; opened 2012
		7.585	12.207	9	11	Route 24 north to I-495 – Boston	Northern terminus of Route 24 concurrency; north end of freeway section
	Berkley	12.972	20.876			County Street	Former Route 140
	Taunton	13.229– 13.392	21.290– 21.552			Route 140 – East Freetown, New Bedford, Taunton, Boston	Exit 16 on Route 140
Plymouth	Lakeville	17.070	27.472			Route 18 – Lakeville, Bridgewater, Brockton
	Middleborough	18.730	30.143			Route 105 – Lakeville, Rochester, Middleboro Center	Northern terminus; to exit 12 on I-495
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access

References[]

Route map:

External links[]

• Route 79/Braga Bridge Improvements Project