A 2019 study found the Bourne Bridge (shown) and the Sagamore Bridge to be functionally obsolete.
Ray Ewing

Bourne and Sagamore Bridges Denied Federal Grants

Funds to replace the aging Bourne and Sagamore bridges did not make the cut Wednesday as part of a first round of funding under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

Funds to replace the aging Bourne and Sagamore bridges did not make the cut Wednesday when the Federal Highway Administration announced $2.1 billion in bridge grants as part of a first round of funding under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

The omission was announced in a press release from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, which expressed disappointment by the outgoing administration of Gov. Charlie Baker.

“Despite these bridges being federal assets, the administration has spent considerable time, energy and funds to support replacing the bridges, including working with the Legislature to pass significant funding to replace the approaches to the bridges and authorization for Massachusetts to compete for federal grants,” MassDOT spokesperson Jacquelyn Goddard said in the release.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had applied for $1.882 billion from the Federal Highway Administration to replace the two bridges that connect the Cape to the mainland over the Cape Cod Canal. A 2019 study found the bridges to be functionally obsolete. The funding request represents 47 per cent of the estimated $3.976 billion total project cost.

Although the Army Corps currently owns and operates the two bridges, once the bridges are rebuilt responsibility for their maintenance will shift to the MassDOT under a determination made in 2020.

The grants announced Wednesday will fund construction of four projects: the Brent Spence Bridge connecting Kentucky and Ohio over the Ohio River, the Golden Gate Bridge in California, the Gold Star Memorial Bridge on I-95 between New London and Groton, Conn., and four bridges spanning the Calumet River on the southside of Chicago.

The infrastructure law includes funding of nearly $40 billion over five years for bridge reconstruction.

In a joint statement, U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Edward Markey and U.S. Rep. Bill Keating, said it was "frustrating" that the bridges were not included in the current funding round. But they noted that the Biden adminstration had previously awarded a $1.6 million planning grant for the project, which they said signaled a "strong commitment" to reconstruction of the bridges.

“Congress has appropriated unprecedented infrastructure money for bridges around the country, and we remain confident that the Army Corps and MassDOT can learn lessons from this grant cycle to submit a more competitive application in the next round of federal funding," the statement continued. "Cape residents deserve safe, secure public infrastructure and we’ll continue to work with federal, state, and local partners until it’s delivered.”

Updated with a statement from the region's congressional delegation.

Comments

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 01/04/2023 - 21:23

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R

Yikes

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 01/05/2023 - 06:48

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Sal Edgartown

Meanwhile, our government is handing tens of billions of dollars to Ukraine, WTF. We have a lot of problems in this country, and those tax dollars could have helped US, the American people. After all, its our tax dollars...the one who work and pay their taxes.

Matt North Truro

Those grants to Ukraine are necessary to keep our economy, which is entirely globally integrated, healthy. And the "billions of dollars" are primarily military equipment that's been sitting in storage and will age out in the next decade. It was designed in the 90's, built in the 00's, all for a ground war in Europe against the Russians. The Ukrainians are doing our bidding there.

Otto West Tisbury

Safe bridges are much more important and more beneficial to our economy than getting sucked into the most recent of the never ending wars in Europe.

Albert Nau

WTF?
WTF is wrong with Sal?
Does Sal think it was wrong to spend 'tens of billions' of tax dollars to defeat Hitler?
Did those tax dollars help out the people who pay the taxes.
Will defeating Putin do the same?
Comparing Norton Point to Ukarine is WTF kind of thinking.
The same kind of thinking that says that Trump won by a comfortable margin in 2020 and that there was a red wave in 2022.
The only red wave in 2022 was Putin's failed invasion of Ukarine.
US tax dollars stopped him.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 01/05/2023 - 16:00

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Ken Wass Wareham Ma

Just fill in the canal making a new roadway off and on Cape. Then see how fast we get a new bridge !

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 01/06/2023 - 10:17

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Brenda Leonard Oak Bluffs

How do we get the bridges up to date?
Maybe we need to charge a user fee to cross setting up a tollbooth to collect CASH no electronic payments as we know how many problems we have had with that one. It would generate jobs too.
Thank you Matt for providing your knowledge for Sal who is not a fan of helping others especially foreigners.

John Cape Cod

The Bridges will continue to be maintained at a higher cost with lengthy repair periods / traffic backups instead of replacing them with new safer structures. Until our Federal government gets its head out of the sand and addresses the real needs of its citizens, the status quo will continue as things get worse on many issues facing our country.

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