Replacing Cape Cod Bridges Headlining 2 Virtual Public Forums

BOURNE, MA — The Massachusetts Department of Transportation will hold virtual meeting Tuesday and Wednesday to discuss plans to replace the aging Bourne and Sagamore bridges.

State officials will use the two public forums to present an overview of the proposed Cape Cod Canal Area Transportation Improvement Program. The plan also includes improving the roads and highways approaching the bridges.

Each meeting will be from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., and will be conducted over Zoom. MassDOT officials said the public will get an opportunity to provide feedback during the meetings.

State officials are also expected to discuss how permanent or temporary easements will work for abutters, as a secure right-of-way is necessary for the project. MassDOT’s policy for land acquisitions will be presented in the meetings.

The bridges are currently owned and maintained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, but in July 2020, military and state officials came to an agreement that will demolish the Bourne and Sagamore bridges and transfer ownership of their replacements to Massachusetts.

Under the agreement, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which owns and maintains the 85-year-old bridges, will transfer the multi-year project to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. The federal government would still cover the costs of the project, but MassDOT will be the agency in charge of designing and building the new bridges, the Cape Cod Times reported.

Discussions about replacing the Cape Cod Canal bridges came after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released a study that recommended the Sagamore and Bourne bridges be replaced. U.S. Army Corps officials estimated the cost to replace the two bridges to be about $1.1 billion. Under the Army Corps original plan, the new bridges would include four travel lanes, two auxiliary lanes designed as acceleration/deceleration lanes and paths for bikes and pedestrians.

To register for one or both virtual meetings, head to the webpage for the Cape Cod Canal Area Transportation Improvement Program. Inquiries and written statements about the proposal can also be submitted to MassDot Chief Engineer Carrie Lavalle atdot.feedback.highway@state.ma.us.