2025 Monthly Membership Meeting

Description

TOPIC: Cape Cod Bridges Update



SPEAKERS:

• Luisa Paiewonsky, MassDOT’s Director of Mega-Projects
• Paul Niedzwiecki, Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce
• Kristy Senatori, Cape Cod Commission
• Mike Jackman, Congressman Keating's office

Sponsored by: KAM Appliances

The Bourne and Sagamore Bridges are the only financially viable way for employees and supplies to come on and off Cape Cod and as such, are vital infrastructure for the home building and remodeling industry on Cape Cod.

As a man-made island connected by two roadways and a rail line, Cape Cod's economic future hinges on transportation access to and from the mainland. Two 88-year-old bridges, the Sagamore and the Bourne, currently provide the only vehicle access points for Cape Cod's 230,000 year-round residents, more than 8,500 businesses, and 5 million annual visitors. When these two bridges were built in 1935, they collectively saw fewer than 1 million annual crossings. Today, traffic on the bridges exceeds 38 million crossings per year, roughly equivalent to the Golden Gate Bridge.

In recent years, both the Sagamore and Bourne Bridges have required increasingly frequent maintenance, resulting in both community and business impacts. The bridges are approaching the end of their serviceable lifespan and are considered functionally obsolete and structurally deficient. If not replaced, the bridges will soon require major rehabilitation work, leading to months-long lane restrictions and bridge closures. A complete closure of either bridge would result in an unprecedented disruption to the regional economy.

Members will learn the plan and status of funding for each bridge from key experts on the topic.