Get ready for lane restrictions on the Bourne Bridge starting Monday as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers begins fall maintenance work. Lane restrictions will be in place 24 hours a day while work is underway, with vehicle traffic over the bridge reduced to a single lane in each direction.
The Bourne Police Department has posted a detailed traffic management plan on the department Facebook page and advises motorists to plan ahead for inevitable delays, consider altering travel habits to avoid congestion, and exercise patience with fellow drivers.
The maintenance work, which is expected to last approximately eight weeks, is similar to the structural work completed on the Sagamore Bridge this past spring. The Army Corps has said the need for maintenance work will increase as the Bourne and Sagamore Bridges – now 88 years old and deemed functionally obsolete – continue to age and await their much-needed replacement.
This maintenance work is critical to maintaining the structural integrity of the Bourne Bridge, a vital component to the transportation system of Cape Cod, the Islands and southeastern Massachusetts, the Army Corps noted. Work will include concrete and pavement repairs on the bridge roadway, repair of deteriorated steel supports, maintenance of bridge joints, and repairs to the concrete abutment structures. Work crews will also perform maintenance work on the bridge lighting and drainage systems during this timeframe.
Motorists planning to use the Bourne Bridge should expect travel delays likely to occur during the morning and afternoon peak travel periods each day. Repair work and lane restrictions are scheduled to run through late November, weather permitting.
