Energized by a federal funding jolt, elected officials gathered at the Sagamore Recreation Area last week, against the backdrop of one of the aging Cape Cod bridges that officials say is now significantly closer to being replaced.
The federal government just gave MassDOT $372 million to rebuild the Sagamore Bridge. But how’s the money going to get there?
Massachusetts has netted a significant federal grant to put towards the daunting cost of replacing the narrow and sometimes dangerous Sagamore Bridge.
After previous efforts to secure federal funding for replacement of both Cape Cod bridges stumbled, Gov. Maura Healey and her deputies will shift to a phased approach that first targets money primarily for the Sagamore Bridge.
Massachusetts elected officials who for years have been seeking federal funding to help replace the aging bridges across the Cape Cod Canal got a major ally Thursday: President Joe Biden.
The federal government has denied an application for $1.88 billion to replace the Bourne and Sagamore bridges.
Public officials fell short in one of two bids to secure more than $1 billion in federal funding toward replacement of the Bourne and Sagamore bridges, projects seen as vital to the Cape Cod economy.
Massachusetts will impose new restrictions on travelers from most of the United States next week, threatening fines of $500 per day for those who do not quarantine or prove they tested negative for COVID-19.
The Trump administration announced last month that it was extending a ban on green cards and adding many temporary visas to the freeze, including J-1 cultural exchange visas and H-2B visas, which businesses from forestry to fisheries to hospitality traditionally depend on.
Only two-thirds of travelers surveyed said they would return to Cape Cod this summer, when local officials hope much of the popular tourist destination’s hospitality sector is up and running in some form after pandemic-driven shutdowns.
As a result of the coronavirus crisis, the Cape hospitality industry is now looking at possibly the greatest year-over-year plunge in business in recent memory, as state social-distancing restrictions put a damper on business.
The 15 weeks between Memorial Day and Labor Day are a cornerstone of the local economy for Cape Cod and, with the state still battling the COVID-19 pandemic as summer approaches, a new regional task force is trying to find a way forward for the region.
Members of Massachusetts’ congressional delegation last week called on federal officials to get behind the full replacement of the Bourne and Sagamore bridges over the Cape Cod Canal.
Lodging and beach visit numbers are down on the famous vacation destination, one year after the region dealt with two shark attacks, including the state’s first fatal attack in more than 80 years. However, traffic across the bridges leading to the Cape averaged about 3,500 more vehicles a day in July than they did last July.
