Local, state and federal officials gathered beside the Cape Cod Canal Tuesday to celebrate a funding milestone in efforts to replace the aging Bourne and Sagamore bridges linking Cape Cod to the rest of Massachusetts.
Four days after Gov. Maura Healey announced Massachusetts had won a nearly $1 billion federal grant for the project, Sen. Elizabeth Warren said the state had hit “a funding home run.”
“I am thrilled to be here to celebrate with everyone,” Warren said. “And [I am] thrilled to renew this partnership to know that we are all going to stay in it until we get these bridges built.”
The latest grant comes from the 2021 federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and brings the amount of federal money allocated to replace the Cape Cod bridges to $1.72 billion.
Healey has also pledged $700 million in state money toward the project.
With money secured, Healey said the state has the dollars it needs to replace the Sagamore Bridge, with money left over to partially fund work to replace the Bourne Bridge.
While officials eye additional money to help replace the Bourne Bridge, Healey said the state’s latest financial win is “historic.”
“For the first time, the people of Cape Cod are going to get what they deserve in terms of these bridges,” she said.
“It is a turning point, truly in terms of sustained investments in an infrastructure whose benefits will be felt for generations,” Healey continued. “And it’s a victory that we celebrate today.”
Flanked by Warren, Sen. Ed Markey, Rep. Bill Keating, and others, Healey said the bridge replacements will bring better transportation and economic opportunity to the region while improving residents’ quality of life.
The bridges, she said, will be safe, modern, attractive, environmentally friendly, and improve traffic. Among amenities, Healey said the bridges will include multi-use paths for cyclists, walkers, and people using wheelchairs.
With traffic in mind, Healey said crews will keep the current Sagamore Bridge open while they work to replace it.
Healey said the construction will create more than 9,000 jobs.
The Bourne and Sagamore bridges opened to the public in 1935.
Nearly 90 years old, the bridges are “structurally deficient, functionally obsolete, and nearing the end of their usable life,” according to the state Department of Transportation.
Federal officials formally announced a recommendation to replace the bridges in 2020 and efforts to act on that recommendation have continued in the years since.
“The Bourne and the Sagamore are the gateway to the region for millions of visitors and the only major escape route in case of disaster,” Markey said Tuesday. “These bridges carry our Commonwealth and we need to make sure they’re strong and resilient just like the Massachusetts families they support every single day.”
Healey said officials have moved forward with permitting and design work while also working to secure funding. Now eyeing construction, Healey said officials aim to have shovels in the ground no later than 2027.
State Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver said construction is expected to take between eight and 10 years, once it begins.
from Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News
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