Two times within the last week, the Padanaram Bridge has had to be closed temporarily due to mechanical failure.

Detective Kyle Costa of the Dartmouth Police Department said one of the closures took place Sunday, where the bridge was stuck in the open position. Earlier in the week, he said the bridge was also closed down temporarily.

Costa said the problem is common during the summer.

“The metal expands, and the gears get caught up. Someone has to go in and grease it up and get it going again.”

During both closures, traffic had to be rerouted by Dartmouth police, but there were no major backups, according to Costa. He asked that commuters bear with officers attempting to ease the flow of traffic.