SAGAMORE, Mass. — Federal officials on Thursday announced $371 million in funding for a project that will “restore and modernize” the 90-year-old Sagamore Bridge on Cape Cod.
The project includes the design and construction of the bridge, which is “currently considered functionally obsolete and structurally deficient,” the U.S. Department of Transportation said in a statement. It will also include improvements to local roadway connections, and “major utility relocation.”
“Replacing the bridge will ensure the infrastructure meets modern structural design criteria, including consideration of climate change, seismic effects and safety benefits,” the statement said.
Gov. Maura Healey shared her excitement for the funding to restore the Sagamore Bridge.
“We are really delighted that we received nearly $400 million,” Healey said. “That is something that we chased really hard. More applications are pending. We know it is a big project. We know it is really important to our state.”
A Congressional report in October stressed the need to replace the aging Bourne and Sagamore Bridges on Cape Cod, with the report noting “failure to replace the bridges would be catastrophic,” lawmakers said at the time.
The funding announced Thursday is part of $4.9 billion in funding for 37 “Transformational Infrastructure Projects” nationwide, including $600 million to the Interstate Bridge Replacement Program between Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington and $300 million to the Port of New Orleans for a new International Container Terminal in Louisiana.
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The funding will come from the National Infrastructure Project Assistance (Mega) grant program and the Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) grant program, according to federal officials.
“With this announcement, we are advancing projects so large, complex, and ambitious that they could not get funded under the infrastructure programs that existed prior to the Biden administration,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement. “Our INFRA and Mega programs are helping build the cathedrals of American infrastructure: truly transformative projects that will change entire regions and our entire country for the better.”
View the full list of Mega and INFRA awards at this website.
Applications for the MPDG grants were evaluated based on the criteria published in the Notice of Funding Opportunity last summer. The criteria include safety; state of good repair; economic impacts, freight movements and job creation; climate change, resilience, and the environment; equity, multimodal options and quality of life; and innovation areas such as technology, project delivery, and financing, officials said.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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