State Could Take Over Cape Cod Bridges After Replacement

BOURNE, MA — State officials have discussed the possibility of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation taking over the Bourne and Sagamore bridges from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers after they are replaced. Department secretary Stephanie Pollack the idea is only in the preliminary stages, but it's worth considering because it would give the state more control over maintaining new bridges once completed, the Cape Cod Times reported.

"This would not be an as-is transfer," Pollack said at Monday's MassDOT's director's board meeting. "The issue has been raised: Would we consider doing it after they were newly constructed, and it would certainly give us more control over that next 50 years if we had new bridges, over inspections, maintenance and keeping them in good shape."

These discussions came after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released a study that recommended the 85-year-old Sagamore and Bourne bridges be replaced. U.S. Army Corps officials estimated the cost to replace the two bridges to be about $1.1 billion. The new bridges will include four travel lanes, two auxiliary lanes designed as acceleration/deceleration lanes and paths for bikes and pedestrians.

Corp officials told the Cape Cod Times they were open to the state taking over the bridges because they aren't normally in the business of maintaining bridges, and the bridges are critical links in the state road network. The Bourne and Sagamore bridges are the only ways to cross the Cape Cod Canal by car. The Corps is in the process of taking public comments to draft a plan to replace the bridges.

For more on this story, check out the Cape Cod Times.