$4.5B – that’s the price tag to replace both the Sagamore and Bourne bridges, which are in desperate need of an overhaul.
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When the two bridges to Cape Cod are finally built, Massachusetts will own them, not the federal government, under a new agreement announced Thursday that Gov. Maura Healey hailed as "an important step forward in our efforts to replace the Bourne and Sagamore Bridges."
That agreement between Massachusetts and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers commits $700 million from the state and $600 million (pending congressional appropriation) from the Corps, for the project, according to an announcement. The Massachusetts Department of Transportation will take the lead on constructing the two new bridges, which are still being studied.
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The Bourne and Sagamore bridges, operated by the Army Corps of Engineers, are more than 90 years old and have needed replacing.
"We've been darn lucky that there hasn't been a worse problem on these bridges than the usual tie-ups and inability to travel across them and the terrible traffic lines," Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said.
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Officials said that the new agreement, a memorandum of understanding, lays out how the two sides will work together as they replace the Sagamore Bridge, then the Bourne Bridge.
"This agreement is an important step forward in our efforts to replace the Bourne and Sagamore Bridges. From day one, our administration said we were going to do everything we can to deliver on this project that is critical for the economy of the Cape and our entire state," Healey said in a statement.
The bridge replacement project previously received a $372 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation. Officials noted that it is a candidate for a $1.06 billion federal bridge investment grant.
"We worked in our delegation, senator warren, senator markey and myself to try and tailor these grants towards the Bourne bridges so that we would have the best competitive chance of approving it, we were successful," Rep. Bill Keating, D-Mass., said
The full cost of the project to replace the only roadways connecting Cape Cod with the rest of the state has been pegged at $4.5 billion.
