The Bridge Investment Program grant is the last remaining piece of federal support needed to advance the phased replacement of the Sagamore and Bourne Bridges.
Washington (March 20, 2924) - Today, Senators Edward J. Markey and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), along with Representative Bill Keating (D-Mass.) and the Massachusetts congressional delegation, sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, reaffirming their support for Massachusetts’ $1.072 billion Bridge Investment Program (BIP) grant application to replace the Cape Cod Bridges.
“We write to reaffirm our strong support of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s (MassDOT) and the United States Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) joint application for funding through the Bridge Investment Program,” wrote the lawmakers. “(T)he BIP grant is the final remaining piece of the funding puzzle to push forward the phased replacement of the aging Bourne and Sagamore Bridges, which cross the Cape Cod Canal and connect Cape Cod and the rest of Massachusetts and New England.”
The delegation has already secured significant federal funds towards rebuilding these bridges, including $350 million in funding from the FY 2024 funding package, signed into law by President Joe Biden on March 9, and a December 2023 Department of Transportation (DOT) $372 million Mega grant. The BIP grant is the last part of outstanding federal support for the project, and is essential to meet the total Sagamore Bridge replacement cost of $2.14 billion.
“(T)he Commonwealth of Massachusetts, USACE, and other stakeholders have worked for years with the U.S. Department of Transportation to develop a comprehensive, multimodal plan for replacing both the Bourne and Sagamore Bridges and associated highway approaches. The rigorous ‘phased approach’ developed by the Commonwealth under the administration of Governor Maura Healey and Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll will commence with the replacement of the Sagamore Bridge,” continued the lawmakers. “This is the most efficient and cost-effective way to maintain the safety and economic vitality of the Cape Cod crossing, deliver good-paying union construction jobs, and create more sustainable transit options.”
The Sagamore and Bourne Bridges are vital assets for the Cape Cod economy and surrounding communities, as well as essential routes for general transportation, tourism, and emergency evacuations. However, at more than 90 years old, the bridges are suffering from structural deficiencies that present an ongoing risk to the accessibility of the Cape Cod region.
“We worked hard to pass President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to provide historic opportunities to fund critical infrastructure projects across the United States. Rebuilding the Cape Cod bridges is a prototypical project that the Law was designed to fund. We are proud to reaffirm our support for the Commonwealth’s application for funding, and we appreciate your fair and full consideration of the project,” concluded the lawmakers.
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