Army Corps Of Engineers: Replace Cape Cod Canal Bridges

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has recommended replacing the two narrow and often backed-up bridges that carry vehicular traffic across the Cape Cod Canal.

The corps, which oversees the Bourne and Sagamore bridges, issued its draft report Thursday following a study that weighed the advantages of rehabbing the nearly 85-year-old bridges versus replacing them entirely.

The corps determined that replacing them would be more cost-effective than paying $1.5 billion to rehabilitate them.

The report recommends replacing the four-lane bridges with new wider four-lane structures that include auxiliary acceleration-deceleration lanes, and bike and pedestrian access.

Construction of new bridges, in roughly the same location as the current bridges, could start as early as 2025.

Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce CEO Wendy Northcross says businesses like the idea.

"Modern bridges, modernized roadways that would be the right width with the right safety lanes, travel lanes for bikes and pedestrians, that is all going to make the flow through that area much more realistic," Northcross said.

Members of the Massachusetts congressional delegation say they will fight to secure federal funding for the project.

The corps has scheduled five public meetings later this month to discuss the proposal.

With reporting by the WBUR Newsroom