Preliminary work starting on Cape Cod bridge replacement project
Preliminary work is starting on the project to replace the Cape Cod bridges. Crews will begin drilling in areas around the Sagamore Bridge Monday to take soil samples.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says to expect signage and detours around the work area. The work will happen on weekdays through the end of April.
Monday's work is happening near in the Sagamore Recreation Area. Other areas where drilling will occur include Route 3/Route 6, Route 6/Scenic Highway, Meeting House Lane, Sandwich Road, Cranberry Highway, State Road, MidCape Connector and the Canal Service Road.
The work may require temporary daytime and evening lane and shoulder closes. It will be scheduled to avoid disruption during peak traffic times, MassDOT said.
Sagamore Bridge replacement project
Crews may have to remove shrubs, brush and branches so they can drill into the ground. The Massachusetts Department of Transportation says the work is one of the "first activities to support future bridge replacement."
"MassDOT will analyze the samples to learn about subsurface conditions such as soil strength and composition," the agency said. "This information is critical to designing safe and durable bridge components and related infrastructure nearby."
Both the Sagamore and Bourne bridges are more than 85 years old and have been deemed structurally deficient. They connect about a quarter of a million people living on Cape Cod and 5 million annual visitors to Massachusetts.
The state is focusing on replacing the Sagamore Bridge first because it sees slightly more traffic and crashes than the Bourne Bridge.
Sagamore Bridge appears on NTSB list
The Sagamore, along with the Bourne and Tobin Bridge, recently appeared on a National Transportation Safety Board list of 68 bridges in the U.S. that should be evaluated for a risk of collapse if they were to be hit by a vessel. The bridges in the report do not have a "current vulnerability assessment," the NTSB says.
The state has informed some nearby residents that their homes will be seized by eminent domain in order to build a new bridge. One family told WBZ-TV that the new bridge isn't even being built on their property, but their land will be used to store heavy equipment during construction and eventually become a green space.
