Closure of Bridge Lanes Will Snarl Cape Cod Traffic

CAPE COD, MA — While work to replace the Sagamore Bridge is slowly ramping up, a short-term fix for the Bourne Bridge begins April 27.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Wednesday it will perform “critical maintenance” on the span, requiring two of its four vehicle lanes to close until May 20.

The work will include pavement resurfacing, repairs to steel joints damaged by snow plowing, and maintenance of roadway lights and drains.

The lane restrictions will be in effect 24 hours a day during the roughly three-week period. Travel will continue across the bridge in a pair of 12-foot lanes, one in each direction. The sidewalk on the bridge will also be closed for about a week during the maintenance.

Motorists should expect delays on the Bourne Bridge while the work is done, especially at peak travel periods, the Corps of Engineers said in a statement.

“This maintenance work is critical to maintaining the structural integrity of the Bourne Bridge, a vital component to the transportation system of Cape Cod, the islands and southeastern Massachusetts.”

Bigger bridge plans ahead

News of the travel restriction comes a week after the state Department of Transportation began the process of identifying contractors to replace the nearby Sagamore Bridge. MassDOT on March 26 issued a “request for letters of interest” from construction and design firms.

The state has also been notifying some residents that the project requires their homes to be taken by eminent domain.

Plans call for ultimately constructing new spans in place of both the Sagamore and Bourne bridges – a massive project expected to take at least a decade and to cost $4.5 billion. So far, there's partial funding for the first phase, the Sagamore replacement.

The twin bridges, 5 miles apart, cross the Cape Cod Canal and are the only roadway connections between the Cape and the Massachusetts mainland. For the Cape’s 230,000 residents, 8,500 businesses and 5 million annual visitors, the antiquated arcs remain a lifeline.

Both bridges opened June 22, 1935. Today, they are "structurally deficient, functionally obsolete and nearing the end of their usable life,” the DOT has said.

The department is working on the project with the Corps of Engineers, which operates the federally owned bridges and canal.

Although similar in age and design, the Bourne Bridge extends roughly 2,400 feet – about 1,000 feet longer than the Sagamore Bridge – due to differences in topography.

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