The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) has formally launched the procurement process for the Sagamore Bridge replacement, publishing a Request for Letters of Interest (RLOI) on March 26 seeking qualified design and construction firms for a project budgeted at just under $2.5 billion.
According to officials, Letters of Interest are due May 27, kicking off a three-stage procurement process that will move from the RLOI to a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) and then a Request for Proposals (RFP). The agency expects to issue the RFP this summer, select a design-build team and issue a Notice to Proceed by late 2027, with construction beginning in the winter of 2027-2028.
The contract scope will include constructing new interchange configurations, roadway realignments on Route 6 and Route 3, reconstruction of local road connections, stormwater improvements, utility coordination, traffic management during construction and environmental compliance. Contractors will also be responsible for building portions of nine additional miles of bicycle and pedestrian pathways planned across the broader two-bridge program.
The bridge will be a network tied-arch design, selected through public input, though MassDOT will consider alternative technical concepts from proposers. MassDOT intends to enter into a Project Labor Agreement (PLA), with the project expected to generate more than 9,000 union construction jobs, according to state officials.
The Sagamore Bridge replacement is backed by a funding package that draws from multiple sources. Two federal grants make up the largest share: a $993 million award from the Bridge Investment Program and $372 million through the Multimodal Project Discretionary Grant program. The state is contributing roughly $750 million, with an additional $350 million coming from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), which currently owns and operates both canal crossings.
Photo by John Phelan, CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0, from Wikimedia Commons
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