The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) recently hosted an event to discuss the latest updates on the Cape Cod Bridges Repair Program (CCBRP) timeline, potential funding opportunities, tentative designs and safety improvements.
Cordeiro said that by winter 2034 the bridges are expected to reach “substantial completion.” The Sagamore and Bourne bridges will be in full service until their replacements are complete and ready for use.
However, the agency remains a few steps away from beginning construction.
Bryan Cordeiro, project manager, said MassDOT will pursue funding for the Sagamore Bridge replacement before securing funds for the Bourne Bridge replacement, which will cost about $2 billion each.
Funding for the Sagamore Bridge is part of the way complete. Federal and state awards together account for roughly a billion dollars but the project has another billion to go.
MassDOT has applied for a billion-dollar grant from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s (BIL) Bridge Investment Program to fund the other part of the project.
“The general makeup of the finance plan relies heavily on a billion-dollar grant we expect to get. We are confident about it," said Jonathan Gulliver, state highway administrator, at the meeting. "That should come sometime in the next few weeks."
MassDOT will be procuring a contractor in the next 18 months to begin construction. Many decisions about the general layout are needed to continue with the permitting process and must be filed before procurement of a contractor, with the final design coming from the contractor.
“We want to give the contractor as much flexibility as possible to approach it in a creative way to minimize disruption,” Gulliver said. “So, a lot of the work that our team has been doing now is really to demonstrate that we have the space and we have the ways to build it and they're going to come and fine-tune that.”
Both bridges are expected to utilize the network tied arch bridge type and allow for higher traffic flow in either direction. There will be three lanes going on and off the Cape, with an arch rib barrier between.
Preliminary designs shows each traffic direction to feature a four-foot shoulder on the left, two travel lanes, one entrance/exit lane and a 10-foot shoulder on the right. There will also be one shared-use path for pedestrians and cyclists on the side coming onto the Cape.
“It’s not just about safety; it is also about multimodal access,” said Monica Tibbits-Nutt, MassDOT secretary, in a statement. “This is safer for bikes and pedestrians. This is going to be fully accessible all the way around the bridge for pedestrians, cyclists and people with mobility devices.”
Source: Capenews.net, Cape Cod Times
