Healey calls on Biden to "step up" on Cape bridges
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President Biden "needs to step up and do much more" to replace the aging bridges that connect Cape Cod to mainland Massachusetts, according to Gov. Maura Healey.
- Amid unprecedented national spending on infrastructure, the state has struggled to get federal funds to replace the 88-year-old bridges.
State of play: The Bourne Bridge is structurally deficient and the Sagamore is only in fair condition heading into the tourist season.
Why it matters: The bridges carry over 135,000 vehicles each day during the peak summer season and fuel the peninsula's tourist economy, according to MassDOT.
- Around 230,000 year-round Cape Codders also rely on the bridges. Half of the Cape's residents work on the mainland.
Driving the news: Healey on GBH News' Boston Public Radio called on Biden and Congress to replace the bridges.
What they're saying: "It is unacceptable to repair them, that is not the solution. They need to be replaced," Healey said of the 88-year old Bourne and Sagamore bridges.
- Healey said she has "spoken directly to the Biden administration at all levels" as well as the state's congressional delegation for the money to build new bridges.
The bottom line: Major bridge projects take time to complete and any delay in funding could push back construction, meaning the bridges would be even older and more decayed by the time they're replaced.
The state is already planning how to replace the bridges once funding is in place.
- Last year, MassDOT pitched the idea of two sets of twin bridges spanning the Cape Cod Canal to alleviate traffic congestion and improve bike and pedestrian passage.
- One possible plan calls for sets of arched bridges to be pre-manufactured and floated into the canal for construction.
- There are other options for more expensive cable-stayed bridges like Boston's Zakim Bridge, or more modest flat box girder designs.
What's next: According to MassDOT's schedule, construction isn't set to begin until 2027.