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Healey vows to double the money to replace Cape bridges

The Massachusetts governor has pledged to increase state funding to replace the Bourne and Sagamore bridges from $350 million to $700 million.

The sun reflects off the Sagamore Bridge as several cars drive across it.
The Sagamore Bridge. John Tlumacki / The Boston Globe, File

By Eli Curwin

2 minutes to read

Cape Cod’s Bourne and Sagamore bridges, having repeatedly failed to receive the necessary financing for replacement, are now set to receive an additional $350 million in state funding — doubling the commonwealth’s initial investment to $700 million — in a pledge from Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey.

For months, Massachusetts has failed to receive the necessary funds — an estimated total project cost of $4 billion — to replace the ailing, 88-year-old Bourne and Sagamore bridges. Now, in addition to the $350 million granted for the bridges in President Joe Biden’s fiscal year 2024 plan, Healey has vowed to double the commonwealth’s initial $350 million commitment, in a possible attempt to lure additional backing from the federal government.

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“The Cape Cod Canal Bridges are critical for Massachusetts’ communities and economy,” Quentin Palfrey, the state’s director of federal funds and infrastructure, said in a statement. “Governor Healey and Lieutenant Governor Driscoll have made this project a top priority of our administration.”

“We are committed to forging a path forward to new and improved bridge infrastructure,” he added. “MassDOT is actively working with the Federal Highway Administration to review the schedule, permitting and project delivery options. The results of that review will inform active conversations that the Governor and her team are having with our federal delegation, USDOT, and the Army Corps about the project proposal — as well as what resources can be utilized to ensure that the project moves forward.”

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The two bridges, deemed “functionally obsolete” by their owners, the Army Corps of Engineers, have failed to secure necessary funding over the past three years. In September 2022, the U.S. Department of Transportation declined over $1 billion in funding, opting to back 26 other projects. And in January, the projects faced another setback, as USDOT again rejected a grant that would fund 47% of the project.

The reasons for these rejections, according to reporting from The Boston Globe, can likely be chalked up to poor planning, as USDOT officials told state and Army Corps leaders in a March 9 meeting their project proposal had a $630 million shortfall.

In March, Biden’s budget proposal — still facing an uphill battle in congress — provided a $350 million down payment on the two bridges, toward a commitment of $600 million, and a transfer of ownership from the Army Corps of Engineers to the commonwealth.

While it is unclear if the increased state funding will allure more federal funding, the developments from the White House and the state come after months of pleas and demands from Massachusetts representatives.

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