Bourne Bridge Construction Reaches Phase Three

If your daily commute to the Cape has become unbearable in the past month or so, there is hope.

The United States Army Corps of Engineers of New England announced last night that they were able to shift ongoing work to the Bourne Bridge to Phase 3.

How is the Progress?

The Bourne Bridge project will now shift into the final phase of the project.  The Army Corps of Engineers says Phase 3 of the bridge work includes repairs to the sidewalk and structural and roadwork repairs to the travel lanes connected to the sidewalk.  As of last night, the Bourne Bridge project is now 2/3 complete.

During this final phase of the bridge work the Bourne Bridge sidewalk will be closed to pedestrian and bicycle traffic.  Drivers will see new traffic lanes on the bridge.

Repaired, Not Replaced

Meanwhile, CBS Boston is reporting that state lawmakers are worried that not replacing the 90 year old bridge could be "catastrophic."  The Commonwealth's delegation has tried and failed to bring home the more than 4.5 billion dollars of funding to replace both the Bourne and Sagamore bridges.

There is real concern that the constant congestion that is created by the bridges.  Lawmakers say that the excessive traffic has a major negative impact to local businesses.

An Anecdote

I experienced this first hand a couple of weeks ago in a mid-week trip to Sagamore to pick up some tires.  It was about 2 in the afternoon.  The business was located roughly 1/4 mile off of the offramp.  It took me 45 minutes to travel the 1/4 mile.  The only way there was any progress was when people gave up, turned around, and drove away.