Cape and Islands Bridge Coalition Stresses Infrastructure Investment Is Vital to Cape Cod’s Economy
On March 8, more than a dozen Cape and Islands Bridge Coalition members lobbied Massachusetts lawmakers to support the pending Cape Cod bridges replacement project, which the coalition said is critical to Cape Cod’s economic survival.
During their visit, coalition members met with state officials on Beacon Hill, including Sen. Julian Cyr (D-Cape and Islands) and former state Rep. Sarah Peake, to discuss the project’s importance.
According to a Cape Cod Times report, the Sagamore and Bourne bridges, which are aging, connect the Cape’s 230,000 residents to the rest of Massachusetts and bring millions of visitors to Cape Cod each year. Today, bridge traffic exceeds 38 million crossings per year, approximately the traffic load of the Golden Gate Bridge. The current bridges have been labeled functionally obsolete.
Last year, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have secured close to $1 billion in federal funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s Bridge Investment Program for the bridge replacement project. Gov. Healey’s administration has pledged an additional $700 million in state funding.
The Massachusetts congressional delegation also received $350 million for the bridges in the Fiscal Year 2024 Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, signed by former President Joe Biden.
State and federal officials said the $2 billion in funds are enough to move forward with the Sagamore Bridge replacement project, which will be completed first.
Paul Niedzwiecki, CEO of the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce and co-chair of the coalition, said the stakes for addressing the aging infrastructure of the bridges couldn’t be higher.
“The Cape Cod Commission’s economic impact study warns that even a temporary closure of one of the bridges would result in a staggering 30% decrease in the region’s economic output,” he said. “The repercussions would be felt by every Cape Cod resident, with economic dislocation that could last a generation.”
