Governor Mitt Romney today made commuting on and off Cape Cod a lot easier for motorists by taking out of commission the outdated Sagamore Rotary, one of the worst traffic bottlenecks in Massachusetts. The move closes the final chapter on a major Romney Administration transportation initiative – easing traffic over the Sagamore Bridge, a main access point to Cape Cod. Every summer, millions of people wait in long lines to cross the bridge, sometimes for hours.
"People will no longer have to tear their hair out waiting to cross this bridge. I've waited in those long lines. It's not fun. We identified this bottleneck very early on as something we wanted to eliminate. Hopefully, it will make life a little easier for motorists," said Romney.
Transportation officials opened the northbound segment of Route 3 earlier this month, eliminating the use of half of the Sagamore Rotary. Today's southbound opening will completely discontinue use of the Rotary, and construction crews will soon begin demolition of the old traffic circle.
"The Sagamore rotary project is a key component to upgrade Cape Cod's transportation infrastructure, ease traffic congestion, and provide a boost to tourism which are all vital to the local economy," said Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey.
"The Sagamore Rotary is now relegated to the history books," said Transportation Secretary John Cogliano. "We've transformed a frustrating and confusing mesh of roadways into an efficient and modern grade-separated interchange."
Citing safety issues, lost productivity and harmful emissions from idling traffic, Governor Romney and Lieutenant Governor Healey made the elimination of the Sagamore Rotary one of their top transportation priorities. The accident rate at the Rotary was five times the state average, and traffic volumes entering the circle were more than twice the safe design standard.
The $33 million project involved eliminating conflicts between local and regional traffic by constructing a highway underpass to carry relocated Scenic Highway traffic under Route 3 northbound and southbound.
To make way for the new interchange, the project also involved the construction of a new $5.6 million fire station and a new MassHighway maintenance depot in Bourne. A new $1 million Visitors Center will also be constructed next year in connection with the project.
Following the opening of the southbound side of the new Route 3, crews will commence work on several interchange ramps. By the end of November, all ramp systems and roadway segments will be completed, and final landscaping will be conducted in the spring of next year.
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Boston, MA 02133
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