![]() ![]() ![]() He'd stand at the rotary for hours observing the traffic patterns, and would ask experts to come up with possible solutions.īut it wasn't until 1998 that a series of alternative plans emerged. Tom Cahir says it was always a priority because it was something constituents most wanted. The concept became a real possibility in the early 1990s, when Cahir's son Tom, who succeeded his father in the Statehouse, fought for a $30 million bond authorization in case the project ever materialized. "But what can my stores do without traffic?"Īs early as the 1970s, local officials toyed with the idea of building a road across the rotary.Īmong those was Jeremiah Cahir, a former service station owner who became one of Bourne's most respected politicians, first in town hall and later as a Democratic state representative. In a May 1976 Cape Cod Times story, the late Frank Sorenti slammed the experiment: "I'm not opposed to anything that will help the congestion," he said. Not surprisingly, it didn't go over well locally. If they wanted to cross the Sagamore Bridge, they'd have to first drive toward Plymouth, and then get back on Route - south-bound. Obviously, none of those things happened, and officials have resorted to quicker fixes.ĭuring the summers of 19, the state positioned barricades at the east and west ends of the rotary during summer weekends, essentially keeping Sagamore residents from cutting across. Five years later, a plan was floated to widen the Bourne and Sagamore bridges by relocating the sidewalks to the outer edge of the structures.Īt one time, there was hope that a "south-side connector" could be built across the northern corner of Camp Edwards. In 1965, a Bourne master plan suggested a third bridge. In 1984, that number was 50,440.And just as long, town and state leaders have studied ways to make traffic flow smoother. More than 71,000 motorists crossed the Sagamore Bridge each day in the summer of 2002, according to the state Highway Department. Then, when the state extended Route - to the Cape in the late 1940s, it took a little more - part of the property where the Sorentis were then running a gas station and an Italian restaurant called Eleanor's. When the Sagamore Bridge was built, the state took some of the family's land. When automobiles became a part of American life, the Sorentis opened a gas station at the gateway to one of the state's busiest tourist areas.īut being at such an enticing location had its risks, even in the early years. "He wasn't a politician, a fancy hand-shaker or any of that baloney. "When I was a young fella, we delivered better than 50 percent of the water pipes on the Cape," says Joe Sorenti. ![]() When people started buying televisions, they sold those.Ĭirca 1950s: A Sorenti-owned garage is at left, and a snack bar is at right.As communities across the Cape began to grow, the Sorentis got into construction. That is fewer than the 54,000 vehicles that crossed the bridge on an average day in 2001, up 20,000 vehicles per day from 1984.Ī prized locationWhen Americans needed refrigerators, the Sorenti brothers sold refrigerators. State data supports Cahir: More than 71,000 motorists crossed the Sagamore Bridge each day during the summer of 2002, according to the Massachusetts Highway Department. But the situation has only gotten worse in the 19 years since his father passed away. Jeremiah Cahir, was seeking solutions to the rotary problem, traffic was bad enough. "And to this day, I have a respect for the Sorenti famil what they've done for Bourne."īut traffic, he says, has simply become intolerable. "I used to go to their house when I was in high school," he says. He's always known it would probably affect his relationship with the Sorentis. Yet he has been one of the most outspoken advocates for the flyover, first as state representative and now as assistant secretary with the state's Executive Office of Transportation. Tom Cahir grew up in Bourne, and went through the town schools with some of the Sorentis. ![]()
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