The first real construction equipment shows up at the Sagamore Bridge in the winter of 2027 and 2028. The Bourne starts about a year after that. The full project takes 11 years and finishes in 2037. Until then, the bridges work the way they always have.
The quick answer
- Sagamore Bridge: construction starts winter 2027-2028
- Bourne Bridge: construction starts 2029
- First new lanes open: fall 2033 (Sagamore southbound side)
- New Sagamore complete: 2036
- Both bridges complete: 2037
What’s happening right now
The project is in the design and contract stage. Permits are done. MassDOT is choosing the team that will build the new Sagamore Bridge. That contract is expected to be awarded by the end of 2026.
You won’t see new construction equipment at the bridges yet. The Sagamore and Bourne still look and work the way they always have. The lane closures you might see are the same kind of maintenance work that happens every year.
Through 2026 and 2027: not much changes
Not much that you’ll notice as a driver. MassDOT and the chosen builder will spend most of 2027 finishing detailed designs, setting up staging areas off the bridges and getting equipment ready.
Property purchases for the new Sagamore approaches will wrap up by fall 2027. Twelve homes and three businesses sit on land MassDOT needs for the new ramps. The state has been working with those owners since 2025.
What changes after 2027
By the winter of 2027-2028, the first real construction equipment shows up at the Sagamore. Workers begin building the new bridge next to the old one. The old Sagamore stays open and carries traffic the whole time.
The Bourne follows about a year later. Same approach: build the new one next to the old one.
The biggest day for drivers comes in fall 2033. That’s when the new Sagamore southbound side opens. Cars and trucks shift onto the new bridge for southbound trips. The old Sagamore comes down that winter.
The Bourne goes through the same process about a year later.
Why so slow?
Permits, design, environmental review, property purchases, contractor selection, federal approvals. You can’t just show up and start ripping out a bridge that carries every car onto Cape Cod.
The builders chose this slow approach on purpose. By building each new bridge next to its old one, traffic never stops. The alternative would be to close the old bridge first, demolish it, then build the new one in its place. That would shut down the Cape for years. Nobody wants that.
What this means for your Cape trip in 2026 and 2027
The bridges work the same way they always have. Summer traffic is the same Cape summer traffic you remember. Don’t change your trip plans because of the rebuild. There’s nothing to dodge yet.
When real construction does start in 2027, we’ll cover what changes and when. Until then, the project is happening on paper and in office buildings, not on the bridges themselves.
For the latest project status, see the Project Tracker. For the bigger picture on why the bridges are being replaced and how the work happens, see The Cape Cod Bridges Replacement, Explained. For live traffic on the canal right now, Crossing the Canal has the current MassDOT advisories.