Harwich Gets Update On Cape Cod Bridge Project

HARWICH – The Sagamore bridge will be the first of the two bridge construction projects designed to relieve traffic congestion for vehicles passing over the Cape Cod Canal. The project is expected to be completed in 2037.

Steven Tupper, deputy director of the Cape Cod Commission, made a presentation on the future of the Cape Cod bridges in a meeting sponsored by the Council on Aging and Brooks Free Library on Oct. 8. The event drew approximately 70 attendees.

Attendees wanted to know what roadway improvements would be made to accommodate traffic on Route 6. Tupper said there had been a plan to make improvements from Exit 9 in Dennis to the Orleans rotary, a stretch referred to as Suicide Alley, but there were a number of environmental concerns. That plan is not likely to happen, he said.

Tupper made it clear there are no plans for capacity improvements along Route 6 or Route 3 associated with the bridge projects. The bridge projects are being done to relieve traffic congestion at the bridges, especially on weekends, he said. 

He provided a brief history of the bridges, which were constructed in 1935 when one million annual crossings were estimated. By 1962 the number of crossings had grown to 10 million a year; now the annual crossings are estimated to be 38 million vehicles.

The 90-year-old bridges are both considered “functionally obsolete,” he said, while the Bourne Bridge is rated in poor condition and the Sagamore Bridge is rated in fair condition by the Army Corps of Engineers, which owns and maintains the bridges. The Army Corps 2020 Cape Cod Canal Bridges Major Rehabilitation Report concluded that “replacement of the bridges is the most reliable fiscally responsible solution.”

Tupper said the cost for the two projects is estimated at $4.5 billion. The $2.1 billion for the replacement of the Sagamore Bridge has been secured with a $993 million federal Bridge Improvement Program grant having recently been turned over to MassDOT. The funding for the Bourne Bridge has not yet been appropriated.

Once completed, ownership of the bridges will be transferred from the Army Corps to MassDOT and the state will assume operations and maintenance responsibilities. The new bridges are expected to last for 100 years. 

The new Sagamore Bridge will be located to the south of the existing bridge. Two separate bridges will segregate traffic moving in opposite directions. Each bridge will have two 12-foot travel lanes, a 10-foot shoulder and a four-foot shoulder. There will also be an additional entrance lane and a shared use lane for pedestrians and bicyclists. 

There will be major changes to the bridge ramps, including the addition of a bicycle path. The bridge accesses and egresses will be designed to improve vehicle movement associated with the bridges. Tupper said Market Basket will remain in its present location.

 The plan is to build the bridges offsite, float them to the new bridge piers along the shoreline at the canal and lift them into place by 2031. At least one of the two Sagamore bridges is expected to be operating by 2033, allowing one lane of traffic in each direction by 2033. Final construction is expected to be completed by 2037, he said.

 Tupper said the Bourne Bridge project will come later. The bridge will require longer-term maintenance in the meantime. The new Bourne Bridge will be similar in design to the Sagamore Bridge. There will be major work in reconfiguring the ramp system to the Bourne Bridge, including the removal of the Bourne rotary, which Tupper said has one of the highest accident ratings on the Cape. The Bourne Bridge project is estimated to cost $2.4 billion. 

 There will be disruptions to surrounding neighborhoods. Tupper pointed out traffic delays will occur with major road reconstruction along the scenic highway running along the west side of the canal between the two bridges. He said the state is putting a median in that roadway, which is impacting traffic movement during construction.