Massachusetts has received hundreds of millions in federal funding as part of a plan to replace the two bridges to Cape Cod, leaders announced Friday.
Gov. Maura Healey said her administration is celebrating after learning the state would get $372 million, the full amount it applied for from the Federal Multimodal Project Discretionary Grant program in August.
“This is a huge win for Team Massachusetts,” Healey said in a statement. “Our administration said from day one that we were going to compete aggressively for federal funding to bring home to support crucial infrastructure projects in Massachusetts, like the Cape cod Bridges project.”
The funds are for the Sagamore Bridge. It and the Bourne Bridge, the only roadways connecting Cape Cod with the rest of the state, are more than 90 years old.
“This funding award is a critical step forward in our efforts to get shovels in the ground quickly on the Sagamore Bridge while laying the groundwork for rebuilding the Bourne Bridge,” Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll said in a statement.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Sen. Ed Markey and Rep. Bill Keating, all Democrats representing Massachusetts, issued a joint statement announcing that the U.S. Department of Transportation had awarded the funds to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which operates the bridges.
“We are pleased that the Department of Transportation has awarded Massachusetts $372 million to replace the Sagamore Bridge,” the trio of lawmakers said. “This funding is a critical downpayment on the effort to replace the Sagamore and Bourne bridges and a recognition that replacing the aging bridges will bring immense economic, environmental, and social benefits to Cape Cod, the Islands, and the entire Commonwealth.”
Healey noted that her administration has also applied for $1.06 billion in funding from the Bridge investment Program.
In total, the project to replace both bridges is estimated to cost over $4.5 billion.
