That's not the only problem....anyone consider the WIDESPREAD GRIDLOCK that clogs ALL regional roads?
You can only squeeze so much traffic onto congested roadways....
Let's stop being 'Cape Cod-Centric' and recognize that better solutions need to be found instead of the Love Affair with the car. Maybe another bridge will alleviate on-Cape traffic, but where will those cars go? What roads will they clogged going to and 'fro?
Gonsalves: A bridge to ... somewhere
Back in January, Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce CEO Wendy Northcross came into the Times for an editorial board meeting with a half-dozen state, regional and local transportation officials.
Northcross said there were serious discussions going on behind the scenes over how to alleviate the worsening traffic problems at the Bourne and Sagamore bridges.
She mentioned the possibility of buying the two existing bridges from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. She also brought up the possibility of tolls as a way to pay for the bridges.
Well, Northcross wasn't joking (even if the bridge-buying idea has a new wrinkle).
As we learned Friday, state officials are studying a proposal to build a new bridge across the Cape Cod Canal, a twin to the Sagamore Bridge that would mean three lanes going off-Cape on the existing Sagamore Bridge and another three lanes coming on-Cape on the proposed new bridge, which would be parallel to the Sagamore.
The new on-Cape-only bridge would have an E-ZPass toll. The Bourne Bridge at the other end of the canal would remain toll-free, providing at least one way onto the Cape that wouldn't cost toll-leery drivers anything more than the aggravation of coming onto the Cape the old-fashioned way.
But before the naysayers get their feathers up, remember, we're talking about a project that would take seven to 10 years to complete, and that's only if all of the various players who need to sign off on the project are inclined to do so. And that's a very big IF.
To pull it off would require transportation officials to get a frayed thread through the eye of a tiny needle. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which has controlled both canal-crossing archways since the bridges were built in 1935, would have to be on board.
The proposal also would need to navigate a lengthy environmental review process and acquire all the necessary permits.
It would also mean dealing with private property owners. As it stands now, the plan calls for a new highway to be built that would connect Route 25 to the new Sagamore bridge. And you just know there will be some who will become instant environmentalists and start screaming about the threat to endangered wildlife — similar to when Cape Wind was first proposed and boaters, who had no problem with decades of dumping raw sewage into Nantucket Sound, were suddenly calling the Sound "pristine."
The best thing about the new bridge idea is that it would pay for itself by way of tolls. On the other hand, tolls are also one of the biggest turn-offs for a tax- and fee-weary public. Interestingly, the chamber has come a long way after the business community raised the loudest knee-jerk objections to the free-market idea of "congestion pricing" when tolls were first discussed by transportation officials at the Cape Cod Commission several years ago.
Tolls would be much more palatable if the bridge plan were accompanied by a plan to extend the commuter rail line, at least as far as Buzzards Bay.
Still, even if the project is eventually shelved, it's a discussion worth having because, of the various ideas that have been floated so far, this one seems to be the best of several worse options.
Filling in the canal, as some folks have suggested, isn't a serious proposal. Besides the far-reaching implications that would have for boat traffic, why would we take away one of the most important defining features of Cape Cod identity?
A tunnel? That would be cool, but why would a tunnel work better than a bridge? And if you think the estimated $320 million it would cost to build a new bridge is too expensive (and who believes the "estimated" cost won't get up to about a billion by the time it's shovel-ready?), underwater tunnel construction would be even more costly.
Other than leaving well enough alone, a third (vehicular) bridge is the only viable option. And does anyone think the bridges are "well enough" as is?
Of course, if we are going to do something to alleviate bridge traffic headaches, we all must realize there's no such thing as medicine that tastes good. Building a third bridge would be a bitter pill to swallow for some.
We don't have enough information yet to make a truly informed choice on whether another bridge makes sense. But it's good to know regional and state officials are thinking big. And it will be interesting to see the state's relatively new Public-Private Partnership Oversight Commission take this on. The transportation panel is supposed to issue a report on the proposal in February.
Right now, talk of a third bridge is just that — talk. But if the Triple P Commish recommends it, that's when the rubber hits the road.
Sean Gonsalves can be reached at sgonsalves@capecodonline.com. Follow Sean Gonsalves on Twitter @SeanGonCCT.
http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20131217/NEWS/312170327/-1/NEWSLETTER100
New toll bridge proposed for Cape Cod Canal
Elizabeth Warren is still a factor in pushing Democrats leftward - Stephen Grossman bedeviled by contract conflicts - Cheryl LaFleur is good for New England - Two Independents in race for Governor
The new toll bridge would be built along side of the present Sagamore Bridge. Artistic rendering.
TODAY's 5 Top Stories
- A BRIDGE TOO COSTLY? A Massachusetts panel is exploring whether to build new Cape Cod bridge to ease traffic congestion. A new electronic toll bridge would whisk traffic onto the Cape without stopping, while the existing Sagamore Bridge would become a Cape Cod exit ramp. - Springfield Republican.
- GOOD NUKE HEAD: Here's why it's good a New Englander leads the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Cheryl LaFleur’s experience in New England should be an important asset to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission now that she is running the agency. - Boston Business Journal.
- THE SOUND OF HER WING: Even though U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren isn't running for president in 2016, there are those on the left that would like to see her push her progressive agenda in primary states in an attempt to move the party, and it's eventual nominee, more and more to the liberal side of the spectrum. Party officials grumble about what the effort means to party unity leading into another election, but Warren herself is pretty jazzed about the groups' goals. - Boston Globe.
- OPEN CHECKBOOK: When you're running for governor, people are going to start paying a lot more attention to your record, especially if you're the treasurer and your record is chock full of financial transactions and votes on big state contracts. Which brings us to Steve Grossman, who seems to have been filing the right paperwork and making the right disclosures since his 2010 election, just not enough to satisfy some people now that he's running for the corner office. Grossman's family marketing firm does business with a lot of companies that also have state contracts, some of which come directly under Grossman's purview in the Treasury. Questions will be asked and records must be reviewed, and that's why we have newspapers. - Boston Globe.
- INDEPENDENT GOVERNORS: Two independents are among the hopefuls in the Massachusetts Governor's race. Evan Falchuk, a 44-year-old Newton resident running for governor under the self-styled United Independent Party label and Jeffrey McCormick, the founder of the venture capital investment firm Saturn Partners, has opened a campaign account with the Office of Campaign and Political Finance and is expected to formally enter the race. Lowell Sun.
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