Mass. “never been closer” to new Cape bridges after fed award

BOSTON (SHNS) – If you find yourself crawling in traffic over the Bourne Bridge or Sagamore Bridge to Cape Cod this weekend, you can now remind yourself that the state is about $1 billion closer to replacing the 89-year-old spans.

Gov. Maura Healey, U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Edward Markey, and U.S. Rep. William Keating announced Friday that the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers were awarded a $993 million grant for the replacement of the Sagamore Bridge, bringing the total federal commitment to the replacement to $1.7 billion. The grant comes from the Bridge Investment Program in the recent federal infrastructure law.

“The question is no longer about how to fund the replacement of the Sagamore Bridge but when shovels will go in the ground to build it,” Keating said. “The new Sagamore Bridge will be more than just a connection between two sides of the Canal, it is a lifeline for the quarter of a million people who live on Cape Cod and the economic driver that brings workers and tourists back and forth every day.”

The replacement of the Sagamore Bridge, which carries Route 6 over the canal close to its eastern end, is the first step in the state’s broader plan to replace both Cape Cod bridges, which are narrow and rarely accommodate today’s traffic flows without serious backups. The Bourne Bridge, which brings Route 28 over the canal at a point farther west, would be replaced second, officials have said.

The project’s most recent cost estimate is more than $4.5 billion for the pair of bridges combined. In addition to the $1.7 billion now committed from the feds, Massachusetts has also committed $700 million to the effort. Though full funding is still not in place, officials on Friday celebrated the grant for the replacement of the Sagamore as a significant milestone for the two-bridge project.

“This is a game-changing award for Massachusetts. We’ve never been closer to rebuilding the Cape Cod Bridges than we are right now. This funding will be critical for getting shovels in the ground,” Healey said. “We promised the people of Massachusetts that we were going to bring home this funding and get these bridges built – and we’re delivering.”

Warren added, “Massachusetts just hit a billion dollar home run to start replacing the Cape Cod Bridges. Two years ago, we had zero dollars in funding for these bridges. Now, thanks to my work with Senator Markey, Representative Keating, Governor Healey, and the rest of the delegation, we have over $2 billion in state and federal funds to replace these bridges for our Cape Cod communities.”

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers owns and operates both the Bourne and Sagamore bridges presently. The state and Corps have agreed that the Corps will retain ownership, operation and maintenance of the bridges during the project. But MassDOT will lead construction and take ownership and responsibility over the new bridges once they are complete.

The state said in March that the successor to the Sagamore Bridge will be built “fully offset from the existing bridge,” so vehicles can continue to use the aging bridge while construction of the new span is underway.

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