Cape Cod traffic updates: How long does it take to get over the bridges?

Cape Cod traffic heading to the bridges at the end of a holiday weekend is bound to get backed up.

With the Fourth of July on a Thursday this year, many people likely took the opportunity to snag a long weekend on the beaches of Cape Cod. After the fireworks, parades and festivals are over, reality hits, and it's time to drive back over the Cape Cod Canal.

The most consistent advice for avoiding heavy traffic on a summer Sunday is to take on the drive very early or very late. If you can't — or maybe you just don't want to! — we'll keep an eye on bridge backups right here. Save this link — we'll provide traffic updates throughout Sunday, and even propose alternate routes.

3:30 p.m.: Thick traffic on Route 6

Visitors heading off-Cape are still in for plenty of traffic. Google Maps says it will take about an hour and 42 minutes to travel from the tip of Provincetown to the Sagamore Bridge.

A slowdown on Route 6 westbound is causing a 24-minute delay. Using Route 6A as an alternative would only trim two minutes off the trip.

Meanwhile, driving from Provincetown to the Bourne Bridge is also approximately an hour and 40 minutes, according to Google Maps. There is a backup of about 16 minutes on Route 28 just before the Bourne Rotary.

1:30 p.m.: Traffic approaching bridges holds steady

Traffic to cross the Sagamore and Bourne bridges has held steady.

The journey from Provincetown to both bridges has not improved in an hour and is still about an hour and 40 minutes for the Sagamore Bridge and an hour and 50 minutes for the Bourne Bridge.

Drivers will face a backup of traffic on Route 6 from the base of the Sagamore Bridge to exit 65 (formerly Exit 5) in West Barnstable. The slowdown is adding about 28 minutes to the trip.

Meanwhile, there is a backup of about 27 minutes on Route 28 before the Bourne Bridge.

The cloudier weather on Sunday may have driven some visitors to decide to leave Cape Cod earlier.

12 p.m.: Traffic approaching Bourne Bridge worsens

Trying to leave the Cape via the Sagamore Bridge remains difficult. At noon, Google Maps said traveling from Provincetown to just over the Sagamore Bridge will take an hour and 41 minutes. A 4.6 mile backup just before the base of the bridge is adding 13 minutes to the trip.

Google Maps also predicts it would take an hour and 50 minutes to go from Provincetown to the Bourne Bridge.

Traffic approaching the Bourne Bridge has worsened. An approximately 4-mile backup before the bridge on Route 28 is resulting in a 29-minute delay

9:30 a.m.: Traffic is already backing up

Even before 8:30 a.m. the traffic leaving the Cape was already heavy heading over the Sagamore Bridge.

Just before 10 a.m., Route 6 westbound was clogged with thick traffic as drivers fought to cross the Sagamore Bridge. Google Maps showed an about 18-mile slowdown beginning around the Barnstable Service Plaza to the base of the Sagamore Bridge, causing a 22-minute delay.

Those trying to leave the Cape via MA-28 on the Bourne Bridge fared a bit better in the morning. They faced a five-minute delay before reaching the bridge, according to Google Maps.

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Cape Cod traffic: Route 6, Route 28, Bourne and Sagamore bridges