Coalition Group Seeks Support for Bridge Replacement

The Coalition for the Fix, a group of business organizations, community groups, and chambers of commerce, joined together today to call for support for the Cape Cod Canal transportation improvements in the draft of the Cape Cod Commission's Regional Transportation Plan. Chief among these improvements is the replacement of the highway bridges across the canal. The Cape Cod & Islands Association of REALTORS® is a founding member of the Coalition for the Fix.

By including the implementation of the Canal Area Transportation Study, the Regional Transportation Plan would move forward the effort to replace the canal bridges by the Massachusetts DOT as well as implementing other transportation improvements in the canal area to create better access on-and-off Cape Cod for residents and visitors.

It is important to the future of Cape Cod that new bridges and a comprehensive transportation plan for the area around the canal is made a priority. There is a chance that in the not too distant future, trucks could be prohibited from using the canal bridges due to unsafe conditions, which could cause the price of goods used by consumers and businesses to rise significantly.

The deteriorating condition and level of congestion on the current bridges also presents numerous safety hazards to drivers and could make accessing or leaving the Cape more difficult in the event of an emergency or natural disaster. That would spell doom for Cape Cod residents, businesses, and our economy.

Creating better access to Cape Cod increases the quality of life through ease of transportation on and off Cape Cod, provides a safe evacuation route, improves the transportation safety of residents, and significantly improves air quality.