The governor is assured, regardless of twice being denied by the federal authorities, that funding to exchange the busy bridges connecting Cape Cod with the remainder of the state will come by way of.
“We have got to do everything we can — and I am committed as governor to doing just that — to make sure that we have those funds to fix those bridges,” Gov. Maura Healey mentioned Tuesday.
The Bourne and Sagamore bridges, which carry 5 million guests to Cape Cod and the Islands yearly, would require main rehabilitation within the close to future in an effort to safely proceed supporting that site visitors, in line with a Major Rehabilitation Study carried out in 2019.
In January, information broke that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which constructed and owns the bridges, had been denied for a second time the $1.8 billion they have been looking for in grant funds to assist cowl the estimated $4 billion design and building value for 2 new bridges.
U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch just lately mentioned that price ticket was a part of the explanation the funding request was denied.
“I think it’s far in excess of what would be necessary,” he advised WCVB’s Jon Keller. “I think it’s closer to half that amount.”
Healey, talking after a tour of an Analog Devices facility in Wilmington, mentioned she is aware of how vital the bridges are to the 263,000 residents of the Cape.
“We need those bridges fixed, they are just an incredibly important part of our lifeblood here in Massachusetts,” she mentioned. “I’m really focused on being as aggressive as we can be as a state in making sure that we’re working closely with our delegation and the U.S. Department of Transportation so that we can compete and win that funding.”
The state has already spent “considerable time, energy and funds to support replacing the bridges, including working with the Legislature to pass significant funding to replace the approaches to the bridges and authorization for Massachusetts to compete for federal grants,” in line with MassDOT.
Both 4 lane approaches to the Cape have been constructed and opened within the Nineteen Thirties. In 2019, USACE decided that changing the bridges “with two new bridges built to modern-day standards” could be less expensive than upgrading them, offering “the best long-term investment for safe access to Cape Cod for the traveling public over the next 50 plus years,” in line with USACE’s undertaking web page.
Healey mentioned that she thinks, in the long run, and regardless of the U.S. Army Corps’ plans twice being rejected, the undertaking will come to fruition.
“I’ve talked to Congressman Lynch, I’ve talked to other members of the delegation, I’m very interested in looking at the numbers and looking at what’s possible and certainly want to put our best foot forward so that we’re doing everything we can to secure the federal funding and assistance that we need for an incredibly important infrastructure in this state,” she mentioned.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”