Healey-Driscoll
Administration Wins $1 Billion for Cape Cod Bridges Replacement
BOSTON – The Healey-Driscoll administration is celebrating
that the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) and U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers (USACE) have won nearly $1 billion in federal funding for
the replacement of the Cape Cod bridges. The funding is from the Bipartisan
Infrastructure Law’s Bridge Investment Program (BIP). This brings the total
amount of federal funding secured for the project to nearly $1.72 billion, in
addition to the $700 million in state funding pledged by Governor Maura
Healey’s administration.
“This is a game-changing award for Massachusetts. We’ve
never been closer to rebuilding the Cape Cod Bridges than we are right now.
This funding will be critical for getting shovels in the ground,” said Governor
Maura Healey. “We promised the people of Massachusetts that we were going to
bring home this funding and get these bridges built – and we’re delivering. I’m
grateful for the partnership of the Biden-Harris administration, Senators
Markey and Warren, and Congressman Keating, which made this all possible.”
“These bridges are a gateway to our beautiful Cape Cod
communities and they’re critical for our state’s economy. From day one, we’ve
been working hard across our administration to prepare winning applications
that will succeed where others have failed,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim
Driscoll. “This award, combined with the funding we won last year, shows real
confidence in MassDOT’s plans. We are so incredibly proud of Team Massachusetts
for bringing this home.”
“Massachusetts just hit a billion dollar home run to start
replacing the Cape Cod Bridges,” said Senator Elizabeth Warren. “Two years ago,
we had zero dollars in funding for these bridges. Now, thanks to my work with
Governor Healey, Senator Markey, Representative Keating, 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.”
“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,” said Senator Ed
Markey. “Replacing these aging bridges will bring immense economic,
environmental, and social benefits to the region and the entire Commonwealth.
Securing these funds is the result of strong partnership with Governor Healey,
Senator Warren, Congressman Keating, and the Biden administration. This grant
demonstrates that the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is delivering for
Massachusetts and the entire country.”
“This grant is the culmination of over a decade of 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,”
said Congressman Bill Keating. “This was a highly competitive grant application
process that Senator Warren, Senator Markey and myself have worked tirelessly
on to get to today, and we cannot discount the impact of Governor Healey’s
leadership and the full-throated support of the entire Massachusetts
Congressional Delegation to get this done.”
The project to replace the two bridges is essential for
supporting the economy of Cape Cod and surrounding communities and ensuring
safe and reliable travel for residents, workers and millions of annual
visitors. It also presents a powerful opportunity to modernize designs to
improve safety, mobility and resiliency; increase economic vitality and improve
access through better pedestrian and bicycling infrastructure. The project will
bring the bridges into a state of good repair, lower the long-term maintenance
costs, address issues with traffic operations, improve safety by reducing
crashes by as much as 48 percent and preserve and enhance productivity through
new direct jobs and other economic benefits. The new design will also have
multimodal elements including shared-use paths to fill transportation gaps and
ensure full accessibility for pedestrians, cyclists and people with mobility
devices.
In March, MassDOT signed a Memorandum of Understanding with
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, outlining the terms in which MassDOT will
take the lead on project delivery to replace the two federally owned bridges,
and subsequently own, operate and maintain the new structures.
MassDOT is also currently working with the USACE, National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA)
and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) on the environmental review and
permitting processes.
The construction of the Sagamore Bridge replacement will be
fully offset from the existing bridge so that traffic may be maintained on the
existing bridge during the project. MassDOT will enter into a Project Labor
Agreement to support fair wages and working conditions for the more the 9,000
high-quality union construction jobs that will be created from this project and
meet Massachusetts goals for workforce participation by minorities and women in
construction.
“This grant award gives us the momentum we need to move
ahead with the project to replace the Sagamore Bridge over the Cape Cod Canal
and to lay the groundwork to replace the Bourne Bridge,” said Transportation
Secretary Monica Tibbits-Nutt. “We are grateful to local officials, the
Healey-Driscoll administration, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and community
members for being our partners every step of the way as MassDOT competed for
federal funding and started design, engineering and environmental work. With
this additional funding, we can move forward in bringing these transportation
improvement projects to life, which will have an impact on generations to
come.”
“We’re very grateful to the congressional delegation, the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and members of the Healey-Driscoll administration
for helping us win this federal grant award,” said MassDOT Highway
Administrator Jonathan Gulliver. “With this second federal grant award for the
Cape Cod Canal Program infrastructure needs, we are now on a path forward to
continue with environmental permitting, selecting a design-build firm and
breaking ground for construction of the new Sagamore Bridge.”
The Healey-Driscoll administration has committed to
aggressively competing for federal funding for Massachusetts. Since Governor
Healey took office in January 2023, the administration has secured a total of
$6 billion in federal funding, including more than $3 billion in discretionary
grants. Last year, the administration won $372 million for the Cape Cod Bridges
from the Federal Multimodal Project Discretionary Grant program, which includes
the Nationally Significant Multimodal Freight & Highway Projects (INFRA)
program and the National Infrastructure Project Assistance (MEGA) program. The
Massachusetts Congressional delegation also secured $350 million for the
bridges in the Fiscal Year 2024 Energy and Water Development Appropriations
Act, which was signed by President Biden.
The Healey-Driscoll administration is pursuing additional
federal dollars to fund additional project phases, including for the Bourne
Bridge. The administration will continue to seek federal funding from future
rounds of the Bridge Investment Program, congressional appropriations, and any
other opportunities available to fully fund the replacement of both Cape Cod
bridges.
Overall, the administration has been successful in more than
$3 billion in discretionary grants for projects that advance priorities in
transportation, climate, and economic development, including key transportation
awards of $67 million to advance accessibility at MBTA Green Line stations,
$335 million to reconnect communities and increase mobility through the Allston
I-90 Multimodal Project, $108 million for West-East Rail, $75 million for
schools to electrify their bus fleets, $60 million for transit agencies to
acquire zero- and low-emission buses, and $24 million to rehabilitate Leonard’s
Wharf in New Bedford.
“Thank you to President Biden, Secretary Buttigieg, the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers and the entire congressional delegation for this
historic investment in Massachusetts infrastructure.” said Director of Federal
Funds and Infrastructure Quentin Palfrey. “This project will ensure there are
the vital transportation links needed to keep Cape Cod connected to the rest of
Massachusetts and the greater northeast region, while supporting multimodal
transit and creating good-paying union jobs. We look forward to continuing our
efforts with federal partners to secure additional funding for Cape and the
Islands, and communities across Massachusetts.”
The Cape Cod Bridge program is moving forward alongside a
larger multimodal transit strategy for the Cape Cod region to increase safe,
reliable and effective transit options for both residents and visitors. The
CapeFLYER, created through a partnership between the Cape Cod Regional Transit
Authority (CCRTA), the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT),
the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), and MBTA Commuter Rail
operating partner Keolis, has now entered into its 11th summer of service
providing seasonal rail connections between Boston's South Station and Hyannis.
The Cape Cod Bridges will be a central link in the federally
designated Alternative Fuel Corridors along Massachusetts Route 3 and U.S.
Route 6, with funding for vehicle chargers provided to MassDOT by the U.S.
Department of Transportation's National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI)
Program. MassDOT recently announced three vendors that will receive NEVI funds
to help implement the installation of Direct Current Fast Charging (DCFC)
stations spaced no more than 50 miles apart along these routes which will be
capable of charging an electric vehicle battery to 80% in as quickly as 20
minutes.
The Cape Cod Bridge program will also provide bicycle and
pedestrian connections to the larger Cape Cod multimodal transit network along
with the following work underway by MassDOT in partnership with Cape Cod cities
and towns to improve multimodal infrastructure across the region. This includes
reconstruction projected to begin in 2025 on 1.5 miles of Route 6 in Bourne to
include a shared use path for pedestrians and bicycles, construction on Phase I
of the Bourne Rail trail projected to begin in the fall of 2025 with design by
the town of Bourne for a paved path running from Monument Neck Road to the
existing Cape Cod Canal Bike Path, among other projects creating additional
multimodal infrastructure for the Cape Cod region.
More information on the Cape Cod Bridges project is
available here.
