HYANNIS – Senator Ed Markey recently highlighted the urgency of replacing the Sagamore and Bourne Bridges to fellow legislators and nominee for the United States Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Michael Connor.
Markey said that the bridges are aging, having been built in the 1930’s as part of a Franklin Delano Roosevelt Works Progress Administration plan.
“It’s very important because 250,000 people who live on Cape Cod are dependent on those bridges. During the summer that number can double, triple, quadruple the number of people who use those bridges,” said Markey.
“They are absolutely critical to the long term well-being of our Commonwealth.”
The Army Corp of Engineers, currently responsible for the bridge’s upkeep and operation, signed a memorandum of understanding with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation in 2020 formalizing an agreement between the federal government and state to deliver two new bridges.
“Every year which we delay is going to lead to more traffic, more costs, more danger when inevitable storms strike the region,” said Markey.
Markey said that it falls to the members of Congress and the Biden Administration to provide funding for the project as well as move construction along at pace.
With Cape Cod and the Islands on the frontlines of climate change and warming waters with its coastal environment, Markey said that urgency should be emphasized in the replacement project.
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