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Bourne Select Board authorizes representatives, presses MassDOT for written commitments on Sagamore Bridge design
Summary
At a packed July 21 meeting the Bourne Select Board voted to authorize two members to present the board’s written and verbal concerns at MassDOT’s July 23 design hearing for the Sagamore Bridge replacement, emphasizing the need for a memorandum of understanding, up-to-date traffic modeling, guaranteed emergency access and clear local mitigation commitments.
The Bourne Select Board voted July 21 to authorize two board members to deliver the town’s comments at MassDOT’s design public hearing on the Sagamore Bridge replacement and urged the state agency to lock written commitments on traffic management, emergency access and mitigation.
Board members described the draft materials they had received from MassDOT as insufficient and repeatedly called for a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that would define roles, oversight and mitigation measures during a multi-year, design-build process. “We need guaranteed emergency access across the canal,” the chair said, adding that incident management and school-hour coordination must be spelled out so first responders and school buses are not blocked during construction.
Several members also pressed for updated traffic modeling. One select board member said the town’s concerns derive from long-standing local congestion and that the traffic study cited in the draft slides dates from before the pandemic. “The traffic study was done so long ago… do they really feel the design is going to sustain the traffic?” the member asked.
Public commenters backed the board’s call for stronger, enforceable commitments. A resident who said his property sits “smack dab in the middle of this whole project” described worries about access, vibrations and the effect on home-based businesses, and asked for a clear point of contact and schedule. Other speakers urged the town to press MassDOT for mitigation funds, paid technical help for town peer review, navigation aids that prevent diversion onto local roads, and commitments to hire local contractors where possible.
Town administrator Marlene reported that the Cape Cod Commission has received the town’s request for assistance in drafting an MOU. She said the commission will outline what support it can offer and that it cannot provide legal advice but can help identify technical assistance the town might obtain.
Before the hearing, the board asked that two members — Peter and Anne Marie — present the board’s comments at the MassDOT session and circulate the notes and a written follow-up. The MassDOT design hearing is scheduled for July 23 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Bourne High School; the board said it will submit additional written comments afterwards and asked for clarity from MassDOT about public-comment deadlines and whether the presentation reflects 25% design-stage materials.
The board also asked staff to request a named MassDOT point of contact, peer-review commitments and a timeline showing anticipated construction phases so the town can better judge near-term impacts on local roads, marinas and neighborhoods. The town will continue to seek a formal agreement that can be updated as the project evolves.
