The Bourne Bridge and the Cape Cod Canal Railroad Bridge
From Robert Whitcomb’s “Digital Diary,’’ in GoLocal24.com
’m glad that the Army Corps of Engineers decided against proposing a third bridge over the Cape Cod Canal, though some folks in the tourist trade liked the idea. The already overdeveloped and fragile Cape doesn’t need more cars funneled onto the long, narrow (and washing away) glacial moraine.
The corps does propose replacing the deteriorating Bourne and Sagamore bridges, which were built in the ‘30s. The new bridges would include four travel lanes, two added lanes for merging traffic, and – praise be to God! -- a median separating the on-Cape and off-Cape-bound traffic on each bridge. The lack of a median has added a certain frisson to driving over the New Deal era spans, especially as tank-like SUV’s, which always seem to be speeding, plow across.
Also encouraging is that there will be improved access for bike riders and pedestrians to enjoy the dramatic views of the world’s largest sea-level canal, with steep, wooded bluffs plunging down to it. The current structures would remain in service until the new bridges open to traffic.
The Cape needs more rail service (including railroad stations) as an alternative to cars. So I’m glad the quaint, vertical-lift railroad bridge, also put up in the ‘30s, at the western end of the canal, is not being torn down; it’s said to be in good condition.
