USACE secures a US$1 billion grant for bridge replacement
22 July 2024
The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) has been awarded a US$993 million grant, for the replacement of the Sagamore Bridge in the Cape Cod Peninsular in Massachusetts, US.
Centre, Senator Ed Markey, announcing the successful grant award. (PHOTO: US Senate)
At nearly 90 years old and critical to the area’s economic and cultural prosperity, the Sagamore Bridge - and its sister structure, the Bourne Bridge, have been described as “structurally deficient, functionally obsolete, and nearing the end of their usable life”.
Both structures are of steel arch construction with suspended decks, and while the Sagamore Bridge measures around 1,400 ft long, its Bourne Bridge sister runs nearly 1,000 ft (305m) longer, coming in at roughly 2,385 ft (727m).
After years of advocacy, legislation and a “highly competitive grant application process”, the central US Department of Transport awarded the funds under President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s Bridge Investment Program.
In total, $1.7 billion in federal funding will go toward replacing the Sagamore Bridge, as part of the broader Cape Cod Bridges Replacement Program.
United States Senators Edward J. Markey and Elizabeth Warren, along with Congressman Bill Keating and Governor Maura Healey, who had been working together for a number of years to raise the funds, recently announced the news at a special press event.
Senator Markey, said: “Today is a momentous day for the Cape, the Islands, and all of Massachusetts. The Sagamore and Bourne Bridges are the gateway to the Cape, and this federal funding is the missing piece to replace the Sagamore Bridge and launch Phase One of the project to replace both bridges.
“Replacing these aging bridges will bring immense economic, environmental, and social benefits to the region and the entire Commonwealth.”
Similarly, Senator Warren said: “Massachusetts just hit a billion dollar home run to start replacing the Cape Cod Bridges. Two years ago, we had zero dollars in funding for these bridges.
“Now, thanks to my work with Senator Markey, Representative Keating, Governor Healey, and the rest of the delegation, we have over $2 billion in state and federal funds to replace these bridges for our Cape Cod communities.”
Meanwhile, Congressman Bill Keating, revealed: “From my first day in office, replacing the Cape Cod Bridges has been one of my top priorities for our region, and this grant is the culmination of over a decade of that work.”
“The question is no longer about how to fund the replacement of the Sagamore Bridge but when shovels will go in the ground to build it.
“The new Sagamore Bridge will be more than just a connection between two sides of the Canal, it is a lifeline for the quarter of a million people who live on Cape Cod and the economic driver that brings workers and tourists back and forth every day.”
Currently owned, operated, and maintained by USACE, completion of the new Sagamore Bridge - which will obviously see the demolition of existing structure in due course - will see MassDOT become its new owner and operator.
