Traffic alert: Memorial Dr. inbound, police, ambulance, fire truck, tow truck and double police boat presence closes Memorial eastbound by Central.

Tip: Drive straight, do not attempt to swerve into the river. The driver escaped, wet, cold, and presumably not looking forward to a lifetime of explaining why he went swimming with his pickup.

For a long time, and likely longer than most would like to remember, the River Street Bridge over Mother Brook (that run down cement bridge by Kelly Field) has been in need of repair or replacement, and has long had a restriction on one side which has been outlined by "Jersey Barriers."

Sometime last night, people on e-distribution for Police District E-18 got a message from CitizenObserver.Com (the BPD's e-blast service) announcing the bridge would close to traffic in one direction starting this coming Monday, July 28 in order to perform repairs.

So I'm not surprised that the Brazil vs Mexico soccer game was a big draw. (67,584 people, it says here.)

But should I have expected the 11-mile traffic crawl that started 2 miles before the 95-128 split, and continued all the way to Rt. 1 in Walpole?

Oh, and Brazil won, 3-1. Party on.