Advertisement State may add 3rd Cape Cod bridge Proposed bridge would be next to Sagamore, have $5 toll Share Shares Copy Link Copy

Would a new bridge across the Cape Cod Canal ease traffic? And, would you use it if a $5 toll was charged?Watch the reportThe state is considering a new bridge to be built right next to the Sagamore Bridge.It's been 80 years since the Sagamore and the Bourne bridges were completed over the canal."Cape Cod is a large tourist destination. The summer season seems to extend from May to October. It’s becoming almost a year-round tourist destination. The full-time population of a quarter million people will approach a million during summer season and the roads get congested particularly the canal crossings," said MassDOT Highway administrator Frank DePaola.The new bridge would have tolls and would generate revenue to pay for construction and maintenance. The electronic open tolling would allow vehicles to keep moving, potentially eliminating traffic jams."That is one of the chronic bottlenecks for traffic congestion going to the Cape and from the Cape," DePaola said. "Over the summer we sometimes have 10 to 12 hours of congested travel as people try to leave the Cape. We’ve heard from businesses on the Cape and the towns that we need to do something to address that chronic congestion."During summer, the average daily traffic on the Sagamore Bridge is more than 50,000 vehicles in each direction.The state’s Public-Private Partnership Oversight Commission is studying the new bridge idea. The bridge would be built and operated by a private entity and could cost an estimated $320 million.DePaola said under the tentative plan, "the bridge would be designed for four lanes. Normal operations would be three lanes (to the) Cape on the new bridge with a shoulder for breakdowns or accidents. We could then restripe the Sagamore Bridge to be three lanes off Cape and that would resolve one of the big bottlenecks going to and from the Cape.”At this point state officials are projecting the toll might be $5 onto the Cape.The next step is a traffic and environmental study which will likely take a year. If approve, the new "twin" bridge could be at least six years away.