State OK's Removal of Sagamore Rotary
from today's Boston Globe/boston.com:

The Sagamore Rotary, long the most grueling hurdle for thousands of travelers who flock to Cape Cod on summer weekends, will be dismantled beginning as early as this spring and replaced by a road that sends Route 3 traffic straight onto the Sagamore Bridge.

State Environmental Affairs Secretary Ellen Roy Herzfelder gave her final approval yesterday of the $35 million project, which was opposed by environmentalists and some residents who worried that easier access to the Cape would increase development.

"To everyone who has had to endure that broken intersection, we are on our way to fixing it," said Daniel A. Grabauskas, state secretary of transportation. "It is a great milestone."

The project, discussed for as long as 40 years, has no other significant obstacles to its completion, slated for summer 2006. Last month, the Federal Highway Administration agreed to provide $28 million, and the state has already set aside its $7 million portion. Plans are already underway to take four houses and a business by eminent domain to make room for the project, said Grabauskas.

During midday traffic on summer Saturdays, the trip from Route 3 across the bridge would drop from 27 minutes to 6 minutes (sic), according to the Executive Office of Transportation and Construction.

Score another victory vs. the Cape NIMBYs. Development can stop at town zoning boards -- this was always about keeping as much riffraff off the Cape as possible.

posted by rafuzo | 10:08 AM