Transportation
MassDOT OKs $1.1B for Cape Cod Bridge Replacement Program
The $18.5-billion plan also funds MBTA power system upgrades
The Massachusetts Dept. of Transportation plans to replace the Sagamore and Bourne bridges with twin arch designs.
Rendering courtesy MassDOT
The Massachusetts Dept. of Transportation’s board of directors approved an approximately $18.5-billion, five-year capital investment plan, including $1.09 billion for the long-anticipated Cape Cod Bridges Program. At 90 years old, the Sagamore Bridge and the Bourne Bridge—the only road crossings over the Cape Cod Canal—are both considered functionally obsolete by MassDOT.
Most of the plan’s fund for replacing the two bridges would go toward the phase one construction of the new Sagamore Bridge. The bridges are owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, but under the terms of an agreement between the state and the Corps, MassDOT will be responsible for the replacement projects and will own, operate and maintain both bridges once they are complete. The planned twin-arch bridges would also include shared-use paths for pedestrians and cyclists.
Replacing both bridges is estimated to cost more than $4.5 billion, according to media reports, including $2.1 billion for the Sagamore. The state has already secured $2.3 billion for the project, including several federal grants and appropriations as well as state bonds.
The Corps estimates that maintaining the existing bridges during the next 50 years would cost $775 million. Preconstruction on the new bridges started earlier this year and construction is scheduled to start in 2027, according to media reports.
The capital investment plan also allocates more than $1 billion for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, including funding for power system upgrades.
In addition to the Cape Cod Bridge and MBTA funds, the capital plan also allots $424 million for the I-90 Allston Multimodal project; $276 million for the I-195 to Route 18 interchange rehabilitation in New Bedford; $210 million for the ongoing I-90/I-495 interchange improvements in Hopkinton and Westborough; $241 million to replace the Kernwood Avenue Bridge over the Danvers River and the Hall-Whitaker Drawbridge over the Bass River in Beverly and Salem; $269 million to support the Rourke Bridge replacement in Lowell; $176 million to replace the Arthur J. McKenna Bridge in Springfield and West Springfield; and $149 million to advance projects that support West-East Rail.
There’s also funds for bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure and local roadways and bridges, as well as $14 million for runway reconstruction for the Beverly Regional Airport.
“Every transportation investment is an investment in people—connecting them to jobs, schools, healthcare, and each other,” Monica Tibbits-Nutt, MassDOT secretary and chief executive, said in a statement. “We now have a strong five-year capital investment plan that reflects our shared priorities and gives us the tools to keep building a more connected, equitable Massachusetts.”
