MassDOT Report Shows $2.5 Billion Cape Cod Bridge Project Won’t Meet State Climate Goals

New environmental filings for the Commonwealth's Cape Cod bridge replacement project reveal that MassDOT does not intend to meet pollution-reduction requirements mandated by Massachusetts climate laws, including the goal of net-zero emissions by 2050.

The project referenced involves replacing the Bourne and Sagamore Bridges with new, wider structures at a cost of approximately $2.5 billion, according to a StreetsblogMASS report.

MassDOT's Environmental Impact Report submitted in September indicates that, due to continued vehicle use and increased miles traveled, the area within 5 miles of the new bridges will still produce significant tailpipe pollution by 2050.

In its environmental filings for the Cape Cod bridge replacement, MassDOT projects a 31% increase in vehicle travel in Cape Cod over the next 25 years. The filings say that MassDOT's projections represent “the increase in travel activity resulting from anticipated population and job growth.” 

“The state needs to do mitigation. They need to tell us we're going to take these other steps — like better year-round rail service to the Cape, better buses, ferries — that could reduce traffic and improve quality of life on the Cape,” said Clint Richmond, the co-chair of the transportation committee for the Massachusetts Sierra Club, in a statement shared with StreetsblogMASS.

A spokesperson for the Massachusetts Executive Office for Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) stated that the state's current environmental regulations are insufficient to require MassDOT to reduce transportation-related emissions for projects like the Cape Cod bridges.

Additional analysis of MassDOT's report points to another area of climate science that was not included: rising sea levels and coastal flooding risks, which threaten Cape Cod communities and could impact future population and employment centers.

“According to the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management, many of the Cape's most popular destinations — places like Hyannis village and Yarmouth — will be at high risk of annual flooding by 2050,” explained Christian MilNeil of StreetsblogMASS.