One of the more well-known sections of Route 6 is the eastern portion of its eastern end, in Massachusetts. This last 60 or so miles bows around Cape Cod as a busy expressway, from Sagamore to the end of the route and the end of the land, in Provincetown. Though the history of that route is a chapter in itself, this is to discuss what once was at Sagamore.
Sagamore is where US 6 exits the busy expressway linking Boston to the Cape. Instead, it heads west, following the Cape Cod Canal, to link State Route 3 to State Route 25. State Route 25 eventually splits into I-495 and I-195, the latter of which continues to New Bedford and Providence. US 6, meanwhile, continues into the town of Buzzards Bay, where it leaves the canal to follow the bay of the same name on its own route to New Bedford.
The Cape Cod Canal
Just before exiting though, US 6 must cross the Cape Cod Canal at Sagamore. The Cape Cod Canal began construction in 1909 and was opened in 1914 after being planned, in some form or another, for over 100 years prior. They could just never get it built and, when they did, it took private money, at the direction of August Belmont, and 5 years to complete, after the canal boom when few states were bothering with them anymore. A rash of canal construction projects in the Northeast in the early 19th century brought about a canal boom, the most famous of which was the Erie Canal. But that canal had closed over 30 years prior to this canal’s opening, after the railroads had made shipping by boat less cost effective, and the saturation of canal competition had made the returns given more disappointing. And the Cape Cod Canal was just about as disappointing. However, it wasn’t for lack of need for the project.
When the canal was constructed, bridges also had to be built to span it. Three drawbridges were built: a railroad bridge at Buzzards Bay, a bridge at Bourne, and a bridge at Sagamore (there was also a ferry). The Sagamore Draw Bridge was the easternmost, and likely also the busiest in terms of traffic. It also bore the brunt of the problem with the Cape Cod Canal: it was too swift and too dangerous. It was so swift that the canal opened to a series of ship-bridge collisions that ultimately scared off potential boat traffic who would just assume traverse the whole Cape instead of paying the canal toll just to risk losing their vessel. The choice of using drawbridges meant that the bridges needed to be raised in time for the ship to clear it and, before the days of modern electronic communication, this meant relying on a bridge attendant who was aware enough to do so once he realized that a ship was approaching. And it was quickly obvious that it was too much.
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| The Sagamore Draw Bridge, likely from the southern shore of the canal. (Army Corps of Engineers photo) |
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| The steamship Belfast strikes the Sagamore Bridge, 1938. If the date is correct, then this is after the new bridge was constructed but before the old bridge was demolished. You can see at the left that the bridge is in the raised position. |
World War I came to the canal’s rescue though, when several German U-boats surfaced outside nearby Orleans. The federal government temporarily took over the canal and dredged it deeper for military traffic. In 1920, it reverted back to private ownership, but only until 1928, when the federal government purchased it for $11.5 million and opened it for free travel. However, this didn’t solve the problem of safety.
Sagamore Drawbridge
US 6 was just coming online in 1928 and few signs likely existed for it at that point. However, it did span the Sagamore Bridge. From Sandwich, on what is now Route 6A, it diverged from Sandwich Road to follow what is now (and was likely then) Bridge Street, then turned right to reach the bridge approach. On the north side of the canal, it met what is now Gibbs Road before quickly turning west on what is now Canal Street. Canal Street continued past what is now the new Sagamore Bridge, and met the current routing of US 6 on a roadway that seems to no longer exist.
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| 1933 USGS map showing the Sagamore Bridge and its approach configuration |
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| Current (as of 2020) map showing the route of US 6 over the old bridge prior to 1935 in black |
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| Probably Bourne Bridge under construction (Army Corps of Engineers photo) |
A New Bridge
While the federal government worked to widen, dredge and reroute (its western end was moved from Phinneys Harbor to Buzzards Bay), construction began on a new Sagamore Bridge and new Bourne Bridge in 1933, both opening to traffic in 1935, both arch bridges with four lanes of traffic. The new bridges were constructed mostly with newly-available Public Works Association money, made available as part of the Great Depression in one of the earliest examples of what often refer to today as a stimulus package. The bridge replacement was needed for several reasons: increased automobile traffic between Boston and Cape Cod, the planned widening of the canal meant that the bridges would not have reached its shores, and the safety issue of having a raising bridge on a busy and fast-moving waterway, something that they had already realized was problematic and dangerous to the canal. But the bridge likely would not have been built had it not been for the Public Works Association and the infusion of federal funds it provided. It was an ambitious project at a time when many ambitious infrastructure projects were going on, and it will definitely not be the last time the program comes up in this series of stories. |
| 1940 USGS map showing the new Sagamore Bridge and the new US 6 alignment |
The Sagamore Bridge replacement also required modification of the approaches on either side, as both were very close to buildings and other roads. From Sandwich, US 6 cut off to the left, bypassing Sagamore to the south along what is now Cranberry Highway, crossed over Sandwich Road and the canal, and intersecting State Route 3 at a rotary (like a roundabout) on its north shore.
The Rotary
That rotary would plague Cape Cod traffic for decades and was not replaced until 2006, when the current interchange alignment was completed. By the time of its removal, the Sagamore Rotary was handling 90,000 vehicles per day during peak summer traffic. The $35 million project was funded by the Massachusetts Highway Department and took two years to complete. It included the demolition of a hotel along Church Lane on the north side of the highway, and the relocation of several buildings including a fire station. |
| Sagamore Bridge, 2012 |
Current Status and Conclusion
After some retrofitting in 2010 by the Army Corps of Engineers, they recommended in late 2019 that the bridge again be widened, to 6 lanes. This, however, has yet to be funded.
The Sagamore Bridge is the most important link over the Cape Cod Canal and is possibly the most important bridge in Massachusetts. US 6 is just one piece of the puzzle to the whole thing, but it is also, strangely enough, a very minor blip in US 6's route when you consider all the other bridge, important links, and towns that US 6 connects over its routing.
Sources:
https://www.nae.usace.army.mil/Portals/74/docs/Recreation/CCC/Brochures/Canal_Overview_Trifold.pdf
https://www.capecod.com/lifestyle/the-story-of-the-original-canal-bridges/
https://www.historicnewengland.org/explore/collections-access/gusn/197362/
https://www.wcvb.com/article/bourne-sagamore-bridge-replacement-projects-left-out-of-federal-funding-plans/30926844#
Next Story: Georgetown Loop
We go from Plymouth Rock to the Rockies to go over the history of US 6 through Clear Creek County, Colorado. It involves railroad failures, mining booms, and two towns separated by geography but joined by politics and cultures.
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