Sagamore Bridge Lane Restrictions Cause Major Traffic Delays
BOURNE (CBS) -- Drivers spent hours trying to get over the Sagamore bridge on Friday. No, it was not the end of a summer holiday weekend, it was the beginning of lane restrictions for bridge repairs.
At 82-year-old, the Sagamore Bridge needs some repairs. Like most bridges in New England, it has expansion joints in the road surface, to allow for movement.
"Currently 18 million cars a year use the Sagamore Bridge," said John MacPherson of the Army Corps of Engineers. "It's a lot of wear and tear. Being New England, we have lots of bad weather. "
That means for the next seven weeks, one lane in each direction will be shut down. It also means some major traffic headaches.
"It just took me two hours to go 20 minutes," said one driver.
Another drive said, "It's a pain. To get from Sandwich to [Bourne] it took like 35 minutes."
The contractor is working double shifts, seven-days-a-week to get the job done.
Then after that is done? They will start on the Bourne Bridge in the fall.