Sagamore Bridge replacement project gets hundreds of millions from Biden administration
SAGAMORE - President Joe Biden's administration announced Thursday it is allocating hundreds of millions of dollars to replace one of two aging Cape Cod bridges.
A statement from the White House says the Sagamore Bridge is among 37 major transportation projects nationwide that will share a nearly $5 billion infrastructure investment.
"$372 million to replace the 80-year-old Sagamore Bridge, one of the Cape Cod Bridges that spans the Cape Cod Canal and provides the only vehicle access to the Massachusetts mainland from Cape Cod," the Biden administration said.
Replacing the Bourne and Sagamore bridges
Tearing down the existing bridges and building new ones is estimated to cost about $4 billion - and it's been a years-long process to figure out who will pay for it. Last year, the federal government denied a request from the state to cover nearly half the cost of replacing the bridges, which are currently operated by the Army Corps of Engineers.
Original construction of the bridges began in 1933. The Corps said in 2020 that the Sagamore and Bourne should be replaced "with two new bridges built to modern day standards." When the new bridges are complete, ownership would transfer to MassDOT.
Gov. Maura Healey said last summer that the state would focus first on securing money to replace the Sagamore before getting to the Bourne. Traffic backs up for miles around the bridges during the busy summer travel season, and the narrow lanes do not meet current highway standards. The Sagamore sees more traffic and slightly more crashes than the Bourne.