Cape Cod bridges project threatened by Army Corps of Engineers funding pause
A tweet by a Trump administration official has put the future of a project to replace both the Sagamore and Bourne bridges in jeopardy.
Last week, Russell Vought, the Director of the federal Office of Management and Budget wrote on X that due to the government shutdown, "the corps will be immediately pausing over $11 billion in lower-priority projects and considering them for cancellation, including projects in New York, San Francisco, Boston, and Baltimore."
Governor Maura Healey and members of Massachusetts Congressional delegation immediately reacted to the tweet with a joint statement.
State leaders have not received any information
"While we are aware that the White House Office of Management and Budget tweeted that the Trump Administration is pausing $11 billion in U.S. Army Corps of Engineers projects, we have not received any information from the federal government regarding this action," said Healey, Senator Elizabeth Warren, Senator Ed Markey and Congressman Bill Keating.
"The Cape Cod Bridges are federally-owned assets that carry millions of travelers a year, and are essential for the safety of Cape Codders and visitors from across the country and the world. This project is moving forward with funding appropriated by a bipartisan Congress and lawfully awarded by the federal government. Our focus remains on rebuilding both bridges and delivering the safe, reliable transportation infrastructure that our residents, visitors and businesses deserve."
"A lifeline for 300,000 residents"
State Senator Dylan Fernandes told WBZ that pausing or cancelling $350 million in Army Corps funds to the project to replace the 1930s era bridges would cripple the region.
"They're the lifeline for 300,000 residents. They're how millions of visitors get across it every year. Almost half of our workers come over the bridges every day," Fernandes said. "If the bridges aren't fully replaced, they go through what's called a major rehabilitation which shuts down a bridge for nine months out of the year and then goes to one lane traffic for two years after that."
Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works sent WBZ a statement saying, "we believe that our office and the Corps may be unable to provide adequate oversight of all the projects," and, "the Administration may consider taking further actions allowable under the law that limit, cancel, or reprioritize resources."