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Senator Edward J. Markey Efforts in Support of Cape Cod Bridges Replacement

Senator Edward J. Markey, member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, and the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, has worked with state and federal leaders to secure hundred of millions of dollars to support the replacement of the Sagamore and Bourne Bridges. Below is a timeline of his recent actions: 

  • June 8, 2018: Took then-Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Rickey “R.D.” James to visit the bridges and discussed a short-term and long-term strategy for repairing the Bridges.  
  • October 17, 2019: Led a letter with Senator Elizabeth Warren and Congressman Bill Keating to the Commanding General of the Army Corps of Engineers requesting funding for the Cape Cod Bridge project in the Corps’ fiscal year 2020 workplan. 
  • October 23, 2019: Questioned the Commanding General of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at a Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works (EPW) hearing about the Cape Cod Bridges. 
  • December 6, 2019: Hosted a meeting in Boston with Senator Warren and Rep. Keating’s offices, the Army Corps, and other federal, state, and local stakeholders in which all agreed to pursue a joint federal-state funding solution for the project. 
  • December 17, 2019: Led a letter with Senator Warren and Rep. Keating to Assistant Secretary James stating that the Corps should replace, not rehabilitate, the Cape Cod Bridges. 
  • April 20, 2020: Following Senator Markey’s repeated calls for the Corps to replace, not rehabilitate, the Bridges, the Corps formally adopted the recommendation to replace the Cape Cod Bridges. 
  • February 13, 2020: Led a letter with Sen. Warren and Rep. Keating to Assistant Secretary James and Mick Mulvaney, Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), expressing their disappointment with the failure to include funding for the Bridges project in the Corps’ fiscal year 2020 workplan and the Trump administration’s fiscal year 2021 budget. 
  • May 21, 2021: Joined his colleagues in introducing the Bridge Investment Act to provide funding to assist the repair and replacement of deficient and outdated bridges. 
  • July 14, 2021: At Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Michael Connor’s confirmation hearing before the Senate EPW Committee, requested a commitment to work together on the Bridges project. 
  • January 12, 2022: Questioned Secretary Connor again about the Bridges at a Senate EPW hearing. Secretary Connor responded that he was “absolutely” committed to the project and said “the IIJA provides the opportunity and the resources for us to move forward with the Bridges project” and that the Corps was “executing the game plan that we talked about” in Senator Markey’s prior meetings with him. 
  • January 28, 2022: Hosted a meeting with Senator Warren, Rep. Keating, and leaders from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT), the Army Corps, and the Federal Highway Administration to discuss the future of the Cape Cod Bridges project. 
  • April 13, 2022: Hosted a meeting with leaders from MassDOT and the U.S. Army Corps to discuss the status and outlook for the Cape Cod Bridges project with local Cape Cod stakeholders. 
  • May 13, 2022: Led a letter with Senator Warren and Rep. Keating in support of the Army Corps and MassDOT’s joint application for the Nationally Significant Multimodal Freight & Highway Projects (Infra) and National Infrastructure Project Assistance (Mega) grant programs.   
  • August 4, 2022: Led the entire Massachusetts delegation in a letter of support for the Army Corps and MassDOT’s joint application for the Bridge Investment Program.   
  • September 14, 2022: Questioned Federal Highway Administration (FWHA) Administrator Shailen Bhatt about the Bridges at his nomination hearing before the EPW Committee, where he committed to working with Senator Markey on securing funding for the Cape Cod Bridges. 
  • January 27, 2023: Led a letter with Senator Warren and Rep. Keating to Assistant Secretary Connor and OMB Director Shalanda Young urging them to provide funding for the Cape Cod Bridges project in the Corps’ work plans and fiscal years 2024 and 2025 budgets. 
  • January 27, 2023: Joined a letter with Senator Warren and Rep. Keating to MassDOT Secretary Jamey Tesler urging MassDOT to take quick action on the Cape Cod Bridges project. 
  • February 16, 2023: Led a letter with the Massachusetts delegation to Assistant Secretary Connor and OMB Director Shalanda Young urging the Corps to provide hundreds of millions of dollars its fiscal year 2024 budget for the Cape Cod Bridges project. 
  • March 30, 2023: Led a letter with Senator Warren to Senate appropriators urging them to provide $350 million for the Cape Cod Bridges project. 
  • May 16, 2023: Joined a letter with Senator Warren and Rep. Keating to FHWA Administrator Bhatt urging FHWA to expedite its technical review of the Cape Cod Bridges project. 
  • May 23, 2023: Joined a letter with Senator Warren, Rep. Keating, and Congressman Seth Moulton (MA-06) to Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III urging him to exercise his authority to support installation resilience in order to provide funding for the replacement of the Cape Cod Bridges, which provide the only land-based access to and from Joint Base Cape Cod. 
  • August 18, 2023: Led a letter with Senator Warren and Rep. Keating to federal Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in support of Massachusetts’ application for the Mega and Infra programs. 
  • October 17, 2023: Signed onto a report authored by Senator Warren, with Rep. Keating, on the Cape Cod Bridges project. 
  • October 20, 2023: Attended a roundtable with Rep. Keating hosted by Senator Warren with White House Infrastructure Coordinator Mitch Landrieu, on the Cape Cod Bridges. 
  • November 21, 2023: Led the Massachusetts delegation in a letter to Secretary Buttigieg in support of Massachusetts’ application for a Bridge Investment Program grant for the Cape Cod Bridges project. 
  • December 15, 2023: Announced with federal, state, and local leaders that Massachusetts had secured a $372 million Mega grant for the Cape Cod Bridges. 
  • February 6, 2024: Joined a letter with Senator Warren to Senate appropriators urging them to preserve the $350 million for the Cape Cod Bridges in the Energy and Water Appropriations bill. 
  • March 4, 2024: Secured with Senator Warren and Rep. Keating $350 million for the Cape Cod Bridges in fiscal year 2024 appropriations bills. 
  • March 21, 2024: Made remarks at the signing ceremony of the new Memorandum of Understanding between the Corps and MassDOT on the Cape Cod Bridges. 
  • June 7, 2024: Visited Bourne with Congressman Keating to meet with Massachusetts Department of Transportation and Cape leaders to receive an update on the designs for the new bridges. 
  • June 13, 2024: Led a letter with Senator Warren to Senate appropriators urging them to support the President’s request of $5 million for the Cape Cod Bridges in fiscal year 2025.