ALERT for travel to CC Sept/Oct.

Here%26#39;s some info. from the Cape Cod Times newspaper regarding lane closures and the resulting high travel times. If this might affect you then check the newspaper%26#39;s website to see if they correct the problem as these are first day complaints.

September 8, 2005

Sagamore Bridge drivers find two lanes a big pain

By CONOR BERRY

STAFF WRITER

SAGAMORE - For months, Massachusetts Highway Department officials warned of looming post-Labor Day lane restrictions on the Sagamore Bridge to accommodate work on the $58 million flyover project.

But the lane closures, which took effect yesterday and are scheduled to last through October, still caught motorists off guard, many of whom flooded state police with calls about the lengthy delays that tied up traffic on both sides of the bridge yesterday.

Jay Conti was one of the many Cape Codders who fell into the fuming-mad category. The Hyannis man said it took him more than two hours to get from his home at noon to the base of the bridge.

By the time Conti finally reached the bridge at 2:20 p.m., he said he realized he would never make it to an off-Cape appointment and decided to abandon the trip.

%26#39;%26#39;I got off Exit 1 and took Route 6A back home to Hyannis,%26#39;%26#39; said Conti, who contacted state police in Bourne to report frustrated drivers pulling U-turns in the middle of Route 6, putting him and others at risk.

%26#39;%26#39;I%26#39;ve seen a lot of things,%26#39;%26#39; Conti said. %26#39;%26#39;But eight cars making a U-turn on Route 6 was a first. I told (state police) to send backups, because there%26#39;s going to be accidents.%26#39;%26#39;

The first day of Sagamore Bridge lane closures did not go smoothly, according to many people, including an Orleans resident who claimed it took nearly three hours to drive from Exit 12 to the bridge.

MassHighway officials say they are committed to the flyover%26#39;s aggressive project timetable, which will require lane closures through October and possibly again in the spring.

As recently as Saturday, MassHighway officials warned that the closures would likely take effect this week, telling motorists to expect restrictions implemented after Sept. 5.

The Cape Cod Times reported on the scheduled closures in January and in several subsequent reports, including a front-page story in Saturday%26#39;s edition.

%26#39;%26#39;We%26#39;ve received a ton of calls,%26#39;%26#39; Trooper Ed Roach, stationed at the Bourne State Police barracks, said yesterday.

The backups were not the result of accidents, said Roach, but rather flyover-related construction, just north of the bridge.

MassHighway crews will be working from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday near the northern base of the bridge from now through October, requiring four lanes

to be reduced to two in each direction for the duration, said Paul Washburn, MassHighway%26#39;s resident engineer for the flyover.

Washburn said all four lanes will temporarily reopen for Columbus Day weekend, but then it%26#39;s back to two lanes for the remainder of October.

Kevin J. Cassidy, a MassHighway district construction engineer, said last night there is a chance the lane closures could spill into November, but it depends on the weather.

None of this matters much to John Meyer, a civil engineer from the suburbs of New York City who owns a summer home in Orleans.

About 6:30 p.m., after spending 2 hours and 45 minutes in traffic headed off Cape yesterday afternoon, Meyer, whose specialty is traffic engineering, said the lane closures are an %26#39;%26#39;untenable%26#39;%26#39; and %26#39;%26#39;unacceptable%26#39;%26#39; situation, citing their potential to hurt the local economy and slow everyday commerce to and from the Cape.

For his part, Conti questioned why the roadwork couldn%26#39;t be done at night, which is routine in states like Connecticut and New York.

%26#39;%26#39;It should be done at night when there%26#39;s much, much less traffic, sometime between midnight and 5 a.m.,%26#39;%26#39; he said.

Conor Berry can be reached at cberry@capecodonline.com.

(Published: September 8, 2005)

ALERT for travel to CC Sept/Oct.

This was reported on the radio yesterday, too. I listen to a local Marshfield radio station and a woman who commutes from Marshfield to Marsten Mills daily for work called in claiming she had been on the road heading north starting at exit 6 at 5PM and hadn%26#39;t even made it to the bridge by 6:30PM....what would typically take on a good day 20 minutes max to drive. Said the bridge was down to one lane. Now, I%26#39;m assuming she means ONE lane--not one lane each side--afterall, it%26#39;s just 2 lanes going both directions anyhow. There must be a policeman directing traffic on both sides...but how they%26#39;ve even worked that out, I can%26#39;t fathom! What a mess!!! Imagine the back up on both sides of the bridge.

Route 28 and the Bourne Bridge may be a bit further around the world...but at this point, probably quicker.

ALERT for travel to CC Sept/Oct.

As repoted in today%26#39;s Cape Cod Times, the Sagamore Bridge will keep all 4 lanes open until ';at least'; next weekend. Keep on coming!

Hi Charlie,

Thanks for this informative posting.... I am leaving for Dennis Sept. 12th, could you give me some advice on when to travel to get thru traffic. On Sept. 14th I will be going to Boston for a few days do you suggest taking the Ferry?

Hi Charlie,

Thanks for this informative posting.... I am leaving for Dennis Sept. 12th, could you give me some advice on when to travel to get thru traffic. On Sept. 14th I will be going to Boston for a few days do you suggest taking the Ferry?

Thanks for the heads up, I%26#39;m going down to that Cranberry Arts %26amp; Craft Fair in Harwich next weekend, and we%26#39;ll stay for a few days down there somewhere, so then we won%26#39;t have to travel on the weekend at all. I see that it still gets brutal at that bridge even after Labor Day weekend! I probably better prepare to leave at the crack of dawn to get there! Thank you again!

Please read the Cape Cod Times for up to the minute info. Capecodonline.com

Right now they have all four lanes open. As far as I can tell from the newspaper, you%26#39;ll have to keep checking back but all is free and clear right now.