MassDOT Holds Final Public Meeting on Canal Transportation Study

BUZZARDS BAY — Representatives from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation held a fourth and final public meeting on the Cape Cod Canal Transportation Study.

The meeting, held in the Admirals Hall at Massachusetts Maritime Academy, featured a summary of the study from the MassDOT Study Team.

It included traffic analyses, cost estimates, and draft study recommendations for a variety of multimodal transportation improvements for the Cape Cod Canal study area.

Possible recommendations include replacing both the Bourne and Sagamore Bridges, adding extra travel lanes onto the current bridges, or continuing with the current maintenance being performed.

MassDOT Project Manager Ethan Britland said that since the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers oversees all maintenance and structural decisions for the bridges, MassDOT is basing its analysis off the assumption that the bridges will be replaced.

“The U.S. Army Corps is obviously in the middle of their own study, but you have to assume something in your analysis, so we assumed they would be replaced based on their condition and age.”

Multimodal improvements found in the study include enhancements to vehicular, bicycle, and pedestrian facilities. Britland says the report also features draft recommendations on support roadways leading to and from the bridges, based on the increase in traffic congestion in the summertime over the years.  

“People do deal with congestion on the Cape and we do hear from a lot of people who want something done,” said Britland.

“We’re proposing recommendations to improve the Bourne Rotary, Belmont Circle, Exit 1C on Route 6, and some on-ramp improvements from the Scenic Highway to Rt. 25 Westbound.”

The Wednesday meeting completes a series of public meetings for the Cape Cod Canal Transportation Study.

“The prior three public meetings were providing updates of where we were in the study. So this is actually our first public meeting where we’re presenting our recommendations,” Britland said.

By TIM DUNN, CapeCod.com News Center