‘Critical’: Massachusetts gets nearly $1 billion in added funding for Cape Cod bridge replacement

BOURNE, Mass. — The federal government has awarded nearly $1 billion in additional funding to the state for the replacement of the Sagamore Bridge on Cape Cod, the governor said Friday.

That brings the total funding for the massive bridge project to $1.72 billion, in addition to $700 million in state funding, Gov. Maura Healey said in a statement.

The $993 million awarded to the state Department of Transportation and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is from the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s Bridge Investment Program, Healey said.

State officials project construction on the Sagamore Bridge would start in late 2028 through at least 2035 or 2036. The project is expected to create more the 9,000 union construction jobs.

In October, a Congressional report 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 the funding is the result of over a decade of work to upgrade the aging bridges that millions of motorists travel through annually to get to Cape Cod.

“The question is no longer about how to fund the replacement of the Sagamore Bridge but when shovels will go in the ground to build it,” Congressman Bill Keating said in a statement on Friday.

“The new Sagamore Bridge will be more than just a connection between two sides of the Canal, it is a lifeline for the quarter of a million people who live on Cape Cod and the economic driver that brings workers and tourists back and forth every day,” Keating said.

Both bridges are considered “functionally obsolete,” officials said. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which owns and maintains both bridges, has rated the Bourne Bridge in poor condition and the Sagamore Bridge in fair condition.

The nearly 90-year-old bridges are “the gateway to the Cape, and this federal funding is the missing piece to replace the Sagamore Bridge and launch Phase One of the project to replace both bridges,” Sen. Ed Markey said in a statement.

“Replacing these aging bridges will bring immense economic, environmental, and social benefits to the region and the entire Commonwealth,” Markey said.

Lawmakers and Healey said the project to replace the two bridges is essential for supporting the economy of Cape Cod and surrounding communities and ensuring safe and reliable travel for residents, workers and millions of annual visitors.

“This is a game-changing award for Massachusetts. We’ve never been closer to rebuilding the Cape Cod Bridges than we are right now. This funding will be critical for getting shovels in the ground,” Healey said Friday.

Healey and lawmakers said the project will bring the bridges into a state of good repair, lower long-term maintenance costs, address traffic issues, improve safety by reducing crashes by as much as 48 percent and create new direct jobs and other economic benefits.

The new design will also have shared-use paths to fill transportation gaps and make the bridges more accessible to pedestrians, cyclists and people with mobility devices, officials said.

In March, MassDOT signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, outlining the terms in which MassDOT will take the lead on the project to replace the two federally-owned bridges, and subsequently own, operate and maintain the new structures.

MassDOT is also currently working with the Army Corps of Engineers, the National Environmental Policy Act, Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act and the Federal Highway Administration on the environmental review and permitting processes, Healey said.

“This grant award gives us the momentum we need to move ahead with the project to replace the Sagamore Bridge over the Cape Cod Canal and to lay the groundwork to replace the Bourne Bridge,” Transportation Secretary Monica Tibbits-Nutt said in a statement.

The state is pursuing additional federal dollars to fund additional project phases, including for the Bourne Bridge, Healey said.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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