It’s only spring, but summer-like traffic jams have arrived on Cape Cod with long lines and long waits to get over the Sagamore Bridge.
“Once it hits 4 or 5 o’clock, we’re like OK I guess we’re not leaving the house now,” said one woman.
The Army Corps of Engineers started making much-needed repairs to the bridge this month, reducing traffic to one lane in either direction while backing up traffic and clogging streets with frustrated drivers looking for alternative routes.
“All of us Bourne folks, don’t have our back roads anymore,” said Whitney McCabe of the Canal Cafe.
Get Boston local news, weather forecasts, lifestyle and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC Boston’s newsletters.
The cafe has been located on the Cape at the base of the bridge for decades. Business is down.
”Fifty percent down in sales. Our tips have dropped. Our regulars can kind of get here and will find a way to get here. But anyone that’s not a true regular won’t come,” McCabe said.
Lines of traffic at the Sagamore can get long. A temporary light was installed on the Cape to ease congestion, not everyone is convinced it helps.
“That stop light, it’s kind of slowing everything down cause there’s like a two-minute wait and it just backs everything right up,” said Jeff Miller of Canal Bait & Tackle.
Off-season maintenance of the Sagamore and Bourne bridges is nothing new, especially with both spans nearing 90 years and slated for replacement.
”We’re used to it. We’re used to the summer traffic,” one woman said. “It’s just like summer starting early, really.
The work started on March 1 and is expected to be finished sometime in May, hopefully before Memorial Day.
