Warren, Markey Urge Senate Colleagues to Keep Cape Cod Bridge Replacement Funds in 2024 Appropriations Bill

Letter

Dear Interim Chair Murray and Ranking Member Kennedy,
As the Senate Appropriations Committee finalizes the Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) Energy and
Water Development Appropriations bill, we respectfully urge you to preserve the $350 million in
federal funding for the Cape Cod Canal Bridges. This critical funding, originally secured in the
Senate’s FY24 Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, matches President Biden’s
request in his FY24 budget for an initial $350 million toward a total commitment of $600 million
for the bridge replacements.
The Bourne and Sagamore Bridges are not just vital arteries for the Cape Cod economy and
surrounding communities, they are also essential routes for general transportation, tourism, and
emergency evacuations. Built in 1933 and owned by the federal government, the Bourne and
the Sagamore Bridges are the sole gateway to Cape Cod for over 35 million vehicles annually,
serving as the main access point for more than 260,000 residents and over 5 million visitors.
The bridges are invaluable, yet at more than 90 years old, both bridges are functionally obsolete
due to structural deficiencies that present an ongoing risk to the accessibility and economic
stability of the Cape Cod region. For that reason, the replacement of the Cape Cod Bridges is
key to modernizing Massachusetts’ physical infrastructure to meet the economic, social, and
environmental challenges of the 21st century.
Fortunately, after years of work by our offices, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE),
the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, and other stakeholders, the replacement
project is beginning to take shape. In December 2023, the U.S. Department of Transportation
(DOT) awarded a $372 million Mega grant for this project, the first significant federal funding
for the Cape Cod Bridges project. Before that, in December 2022, the Biden Administration
awarded the USACE a $1.6 million planning grant for the bridges project, signaling the
Administration’s strong commitment to this critical infrastructure need. The Biden
Administration also included a $350 million down payment toward a $600 million allocation in
the President’s fiscal year 2024 budget for the USACE, a critical step forward in demonstrating
the Administration’s commitment to the project. The project will ultimately result in “new
bridges that vastly improve travel conditions, meet modern safety standards for vehicle and
pedestrian traffic, and provide significantly improved multimodal travel.” Given the bridges’ vital positions as “passageways to the rest of the world, and an integral part
of the economy,” securing the $350 million in the FY24 Appropriations bill to replace them is
essential. In July 2023, letters were sent to 36 Cape Cod community stakeholders, including
state elected officials, local elected officials, Tribal leaders, and community organizations,
seeking their input on how the aging Bourne and Sagamore Bridges are impacting
communities, businesses, and residents on and around Cape Cod. Their responses highlighted
the impact of current bridge repair closures, and future impacts if the bridges are not replaced.
Deputy Director of the Cape Cod Commission Steven Tupper warned that “residents, visitors
and local officials can count on more intensive traffic impacts if the replacement project
doesn’t come to pass…[and that] continued maintenance of the existing bridges would lead to
intense cycles of ongoing repair work, some on the order of three to five years in length.” Cape
Cod Chamber of Commerce CEO Paul Niedzwiecki said that the bridges “affect every single
part of the Cape’s economy,” and that “the Bourne and Sagamore bridges provide the economiclink between Cape Cod and [the] rest of the Commonwealth…the reliability of the bridges
directly impacts the long-term viability of [the] region’s economy and the ability of local
businesses to survive and thrive.”
The economic vitality and quality of life for Cape Cod’s residents, workers, and visitors are deeply reliant on the replacement of these bridges. We therefore urge the Senate Appropriations
Committee to maintain the crucial $350 million allocation for the Cape Cod Bridges project in
the final FY24 Energy and Water Appropriations bill. This decisive action will ensure both
ongoing access and lasting economic security for the Cape Cod community.

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