Will federal grant loss derail plans to rebuild Bourne and Sagamore bridges? Cape congressman says no

Asad Jung, Cape Cod Times
·2 min read
1

In 2020, Massachusetts Department of Transportation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officially joined forces to work together to replace the aging Bourne and Sagamore bridges.

Since then, the two organizations have been going after federal funding to cover the costs of replacing the bridges, which has risen to around $4 billion due to inflation. It was originally supposed to cost around $1.5 billion.

Last week, however, the federal government dealt a blow to those efforts when it denied the Army Corps’ application for INFRA — officially, Nationally Significant Multimodal Freight and Highway Projects — grant money, one of two bids to secure more than $1 billion, according to the State House News Service.

More: Sagamore, Bourne bridges have brought prosperity, loyalty and now worries to Cape Cod

Despite what appears to be a setback, this denial represents only a small part of the potential funding for the replacement bridges, U.S. Rep. William Keating, D-Massachusetts, said.

The Bourne Bridge was dedicated on June 22, 1935, and has spanned the Cape Cod Canal ever since along with its sister, the Sagamore Bridge. The bridge is the symbol for many of the start of another Cape Cod vacation.
The Bourne Bridge was dedicated on June 22, 1935, and has spanned the Cape Cod Canal ever since along with its sister, the Sagamore Bridge. The bridge is the symbol for many of the start of another Cape Cod vacation.

“It’s not proportional to the overall effort here,” Keating said.

More funding being sought for Bourne and Sagamore bridges

The first round of INFRA funding was never intended to be a main source of funding for the project, Keating said. In fact, MassDOT Secretary Jamey Tesler mentioned that the bridge replacement project would not be a good fit for this grant, Keating said.

The 26 projects, which will receive money from this first round of funding, are smaller projects in the tens of millions range, Keating said.

However, the Army Corps went after the funding anyways, hoping it might get something, he said.

“We go for everything,” Keating said.

A more important source of funding for the bridge replacement project, the Mega grant — officially, National Infrastructure Project Assistance — will be announced in the next couple of months and is a much better fit for the project, Keating said.

More: Bourne schools ready to welcome children of migrants staying on Joint Base Cape Cod

The Mega program supports large, complex projects which are difficult to fund and generate economic, mobility or safety benefits, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The Army Corps is looking for more than $1 billion from that grant alone, Keating said.

Additionally, the federal government is required by statute to replace the Bourne and Sagamore bridges, said Keating. There remain many pools of money the Army Corps and MassDOT can go after and this particular round of funding was a small piece of the pie, Keating said.

The 85-year-old Bourne and Sagamore bridges play a critical role connecting the Cape's nearly 230,000 residents to the rest of Massachusetts and bringing millions of visitors to the region annually, but the bridges have been functionally obsolete and eyed for replacement for years.

Gain access to premium Cape Cod Times content by subscribing.  

This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Bourne, Sagamore bridges fail to win grant, but project moving forward