The project replaced an elevated highway with a boulevard at street level and freed up around 20 acres along the waterfront for future potential development.
The project is called the “Route 79-Davol Street Corridor Improvements Project” and its goal was to reconnect the waterfront along the Taunton River with residential neighborhoods, improve the safety of transportation, and create opportunities for new businesses and housing. Additional improvements included several miles of sidewalks; over two miles of paths that can be shared between cyclists and pedestrians; upgraded stormwater infrastructure and traffic signals; new opportunities for parks and public open space and landscaping; and new local streets that reconnect neighborhoods with the waterfront.
Paul Coogan, mayor of Fall River, said:
“The redevelopment of the Route 79/Davol Street corridor is vital to the local economy. The improved access to the waterfront along with the land that will be developable because of this project’s completion will have a lasting positive impact on the City of Fall River.”
News of accomplishments like these and any subsequent awards can be made known throughout a city with flyer printing.
Multiple awards have been given to the project including the American Society of Highway Engineers New England Project of the Year Award for 2025 and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials’ Quality of Life/Community Development Award for 2026.