Cape Cod bridge plan: Replace the 2 current spans with 4 new ones

BOURNE, Mass. — The math may soon be two times two when it comes to replacing the aging Sagamore and Bourne bridges, which connect Cape Cod with the mainland.

MassDOT has revealed plans to build 4 new bridges over the Cape Cod Canal, as it still seeks billions of dollars in federal money for the massive undertaking.

Details were released Monday night during the first of two public meetings on the future of the bridges.

That meeting featured three bridge designs.

They were a concrete box girder design, a cable-stayed design like the Zakim Bridge in Boston, and an arch-style design.

All of those designs would be so-called “twin bridges” which would allow for traffic to continue on the current Bourne and Sagamore bridges when construction eventually begins on the new spans.

You may be most familiar with the twin bridge design if you travel over the Whittier Bridge in Amesbury and Newburyport. The separate bridges run parallel to each other over the Merrimack River.

Let’s say the state and the Army Corps of Engineers decide to work on the Bourne Bridge first:

While crews work on a new span next to the Bourne bridge, travelers could still use Bourne Bridge.

Then, when the new bridge is up, the Bourne Bridge would be taken down, and all traffic would switch to the new bridge.

Work would then begin on a second new span, right next to the other one that was just built. Once the second new bridge is built, drivers could then use both new bridges - one for travel onto Cape Cod, the other for travel off Cape Cod.

The whole process would then be repeated for the Sagamore Bridge, making for four new bridges.

One thing not decided yet is how lanes might be made up. Each of the spans would allow for three lanes. Two of the lanes would be for travel and the third would be an entrance and exit lane. The spans would also allow for other modes of transportation including bicycles and walking.

During its presentation, the state seemed most interested in replacing the current bridges with the arch-style design, because its more in line with the “historic context” of the Cape Cod Canal, and would provide for an accelerated work schedule because the arches could be built off-site.

The Army Corps of Engineers made a determination in 2020 that there was “sufficient justification” for replacing the bridges due to their age. The bridges opened to traffic in 1935.

MassDOT is still seeking public comment on the designs while it continues to seek federal grant applications for the project.

The state is hoping to begin construction in 2026.

The next public meeting on the project is on Thursday, November 17th.

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