This article relies largely or entirely on a single source .(December 2013) |
Sagamore Bridge | |
---|---|
Coordinates | 41°46′34.14″N70°32′36.13″W / 41.7761500°N 70.5433694°W |
Carries | 4 lanes of US 6 1 lane of Claire Saltonstall Bikeway |
Crosses | Cape Cod Canal |
Locale | Bourne, Massachusetts (Sagamore Beach-Cape Cod) |
Maintained by | U.S. Army Corps of Engineers |
Characteristics | |
Design | Arch bridge with suspended deck |
Total length | 1,408 ft (429 m) |
Width | 40 ft (12 m) |
Height | 275 ft (83.82 m) |
Longest span | 616 ft (188 m) |
Clearance below | 135 ft (41 m) |
History | |
Construction start | 1933 |
Construction end | 1935 |
Opened | June 22, 1935 |
Statistics | |
Toll | None |
Location | |
The Sagamore Bridge in Sagamore, Massachusetts carries Route 6 and the Claire Saltonstall Bikeway across the Cape Cod Canal, connecting Cape Cod with the mainland of Massachusetts. It is the more northeastern of two automobile canal crossings, the other being the Bourne Bridge. Most traffic approaching from the north follows Massachusetts Route 3 which ends at Route 6 just north of the bridge, and the bridge provides direct expressway connections from Boston and Interstate 93.
The bridge and its sibling the Bourne Bridge were constructed beginning in 1933 by the Public Works Administration for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which operates both the bridges and the canal. Both bridges carry four lanes of traffic over a 616 feet (188 m) main span, with a 135 feet (41 m) ship clearance. They opened to traffic on June 22, 1935. The design of the Sagamore and Bourne bridges was later copied in miniature for the John Greenleaf Whittier Bridge that connects I-95 from Newburyport to Amesbury, Massachusetts.
The bridges replaced a drawbridge which was built before the canal was widened. The original bridge approaches are still visible to the north of the modern bridge, though both approaches are in low-traffic residential areas.
Between 1967 and 1977, 36 persons were recorded as having died by suicide from the Bourne and Sagamore bridges, and another 24 had attempted but either survived or were apprehended. [1] From 1979 to 1983, as part of "major rehabilitation work," both of the bridges' four-foot high railings were replaced with suicide deterrent fencing. [1] The 12-foot high fencing consists of one-inch round pickets spaced a maximum of six inches apart; the tops of the picket are bent on a seven-inch radius toward the roadway. [1] In the 28-year period after the new fencing was installed (1984–2012), seven persons are known to have died by suicide from the bridges, and between 2013 and 2021, two attempts were prevented. [1] The fencing was cited in 2021 as a possible model for bridges in Rhode Island. [1]
In 2004, construction began to replace the rotary that connects Route 6 and Route 3 to the bridge with a trumpet interchange known as the "Sagamore Flyover". This project had been delayed for many years because of a controversy about the disruption of homes and businesses in the area. The project finally commenced because of the severe gridlock at the rotary, which was built to accommodate a much smaller amount of traffic. The flyover was completed in late 2006.
The Army Corps of Engineers replaced the bridge deck, the sidewalk, and the lighting in May 2010. In October 2019, the Army Corps of Engineers recommended replacing the bridge with a wider bridge with four travel lanes, one auxiliary lane in each direction, bike and pedestrian paths, shoulders, and a median. The recommendation said that replacement was more cost-effective than upgrading the existing bridge in order to reduce long summertime backups. [2]
In 2019, a federal study concluded that the Sagamore and Bourne bridges, originally expected to last only 50 years, needed replacement. [3] [4] [5] The Cape Cod Bridges program is currently taking public input into the multi phased project and have unveiled different design types for feedback. [6]
The Sagamore bridge is slated to be replaced with a new span just to the west of the existing span. [7] Construction could begin in 2027 with an estimated time to completion of 8 to 10 years. The existing bridge will remain open during the construction of new bridge. Unlike the existing bridge, owned by the federal government, the state of Massachusetts will own the new bridge. [8]
There is a six-foot wide [9] sidewalk for pedestrian and bicycle access on the east side of the bridge. The sidewalk is slightly raised, but there is no fence or barrier between it and car traffic, so cyclists are recommended to walk their bicycle. [10] The bridge road is plowed in winter, although the sidewalk is sometimes unplowed and unpassable. [11] The bridges to the Cape are sometimes closed for safety during high winds. [12]
Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer months. The name Cape Cod, coined in 1602 by Bartholomew Gosnold, is the ninth oldest English place-name in the U.S.
The Cape Cod Canal is an artificial waterway in Massachusetts connecting Cape Cod Bay in the north to Buzzards Bay in the south, and is part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. The approximately 7.4-mile-long (11.9 km) canal traverses the neck of land joining Cape Cod to the state's mainland. It mostly follows tidal rivers widened to 480 feet (150 m) and deepened to 32 feet (9.8 m) at mean low water, shaving up to 135 miles (217 km) off the journey around the cape for its approximately 14,000 annual users.
Sagamore is a census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Bourne in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 3,623 at the 2010 census. "Sagamore" was one of the words used by northeastern Native Americans to designate an elected chief or leader.
Bourne is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 20,452 at the 2020 census.
The Chain Bridge is a viaduct that crosses the Potomac River at Little Falls in Washington, D.C. The steel girder bridge carries close to 22,000 cars a day. It connects Washington, D.C. with affluent sections of Arlington and Fairfax counties in Virginia. On the Washington, D.C. side, the bridge connects with Canal Road. Left turns onto the Clara Barton Parkway from the Chain Bridge are prohibited, but the reverse is permitted. On the Northern Virginia side, the bridge connects with State Route 123, which provides access to George Washington Memorial Parkway.
Route 25 is a 10-mile-long (16 km) freeway located in Plymouth County and Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. The route is a nominally east–west highway, and less commonly known as the Blue Star Memorial Highway. An eastward continuation of Interstate 495, Route 25 provides freeway access to Cape Cod. The route's western terminus is at a trumpet interchange with I-495 and I-195 in West Wareham. The route has three numbered interchanges along its length before terminating at the northern end of the Bourne Bridge in Bourne; the mainline of Route 25 continues across the bridge and over the Cape Cod Canal as Massachusetts Route 28 south.
Massachusetts Route 6A is the state road for two sections formerly known as U.S. Route 6 (US 6) on Cape Cod. Most of Route 6A is also known as the Old King's Highway. Combining the 2 major sections, the highway is approximately 62 miles (100 km) long.
Route 3 is a state-numbered route in the U.S. state of Massachusetts, maintained by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT). Spanning approximately 56 miles (90 km) along a north–south axis, it is inventoried with U.S. Route 3 as a single route by the state. The state-numbered Route 3 travels from Bourne in the south to Cambridge in the north, while US 3 continues from Cambridge and crosses the New Hampshire state line in Tyngsborough. Mileposts on US 3 continue from those on the state-numbered Route 3.
The Bourne Bridge in Bourne, Massachusetts, carries Route 28 across the Cape Cod Canal, connecting Cape Cod with the rest of Massachusetts. It won the American Institute of Steel Construction's Class "A" Award of Merit as the "Most Beautiful Steel Bridge" in 1934. Most traffic approaching from the west follows Route 25 which ends at the interchange with US 6 and Route 28 just north of the bridge. The highway provides freeway connections from Interstate 495 and Interstate 195.
The Cape Cod Canal Railroad Bridge is a vertical lift bridge in Bourne, Massachusetts near Buzzards Bay that carries railroad traffic across the Cape Cod Canal, connecting Cape Cod with the mainland.
Route 28 is a 151.93-mile-long (244.51 km) nominally south–north state highway in the U.S. state of Massachusetts, running from the town of Eastham via Boston to the New Hampshire state line in Methuen. Following the route from its nominally southern end, Route 28 initially heads south to the town of Chatham then turns west to follow along the south shore of Cape Cod. In Falmouth, Route 28 turns north and continues through the western part of Plymouth County and the eastern part of Norfolk County; it then passes through downtown Boston before heading north via Lawrence to the New Hampshire state line, where it continues as New Hampshire Route 28.
The Chesapeake City Bridge carries Maryland Route 213 across the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal in Chesapeake City, Maryland. There are two undivided traffic lanes and one sidewalk on the east side of the bridge. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began construction on the bridge in 1948 and it was opened to traffic in 1949. An older vertical lift drawbridge was destroyed on July 28, 1942, after being struck by the tanker Franz Klasen. The bridge is identical in appearance to the old St. Georges Bridge in Delaware except for the number of lanes.
Sandwich Road is a two-lane state highway in Bourne, Massachusetts, United States, traveling from Bourne center east to Sandwich. It begins at a four-way intersection with Shore Road, County Road, and Trowbridge Road in Bourne center; Waterhouse Road and Perry Avenue also once ended there. It heads east along the south side of the Cape Cod Canal, traveling under both the Bourne Bridge and the Sagamore Bridge. A short connection, also called Sandwich Road, connects the Bourne Rotary – the south end of the Bourne Bridge – with the main road. From the area of the Sagamore Bridge, at Sagamore, east to the Sandwich town line, Sandwich Road carries Route 6A.
Sagamore Beach is a village on Cape Cod, in the town of Bourne, Massachusetts, United States. The northern half of the Sagamore census-designated place, Sagamore Beach faces Cape Cod Bay, and the Cape Cod Canal courses through it. Along with Buzzards Bay and Bournedale, it is one of three communities that comprise the county of Barnstable.
U.S. Route 6 (US 6) in Massachusetts is a 117.952-mile-long (189.825 km) portion of the cross-country route connecting Providence, Rhode Island, to Fall River, New Bedford, and Cape Cod. In the Fall River and New Bedford areas, US 6 parallels Interstate 195 (I-195). On Cape Cod, US 6 is a highway interconnecting the towns of the area. The freeway section in this area is also known as the Mid-Cape Highway. The highway is also alternatively signed as the "Grand Army of the Republic Highway".
The Claire Saltonstall Bikeway, also known as the Boston to Cape Cod Bikeway, is a 135-mile bikeway marked as Bike Route 1 that starts on the Charles River Bike Path near Boston University in Boston, Massachusetts and winds along Boston's Emerald Necklace, using mostly back roads and bike paths with occasional stretches of secondary highways. It ends in Provincetown, Massachusetts. The bikeway was named on July 17, 1978, in memory of Claire Saltonstall, the daughter of Senator William L. Saltonstall. Claire was killed by the driver of an automobile in 1974 while she was riding her bicycle. Senator Saltonstall was a sponsor of bicycle safety legislation and was instrumental in developing the bikeway. Dual signs were erected along the route shortly after the bikeway opened, one with a picture of a bicycle in a green background and the green number 1 below the picture, and another rectangular sign with the words Claire Saltonstall Bikeway below that. Few of the original signs survive today, however, and new signs were erected in the summer of 2018.
Several special routes of U.S. Route 6 (US 6) exist. In order from west to east, these special routes are as follows.
Bournedale station was a railroad station serving Bournedale, Massachusetts. Opened in 1848, it was relocated in 1911 during construction of the Cape Cod Canal and closed in the 1920s.
The Bourne Highway Bridge was a bascule bridge in the town of Bourne, Massachusetts, that spanned the Cape Cod Canal. It was in use from 1911 until 1935.