Cape Cod Tracker

Crossing That Bridge

For a long time has it been known that you are not offically on Cape Cod till you cross the Cape Cod Canal either by car, boat, or train. The Cape Cod Canal essentially made Cape Cod an island with water on all four sides. The Canal was first explored and considered by Miles Standish of the Plymouth colony in 1623 Standish realized that a waterway connecting Buzzards Bay with Cape Cod Bay would help trade between the Plymouth colony, the Native American Indians and the Dutch from New York.

The Cape Cod Canal today.

Although such a task was beyond the abilities of the colony during the Revolutioninary War George Washngton saw the need for a Canal to give greater security to the American forces. In 1776 Thomas Machin an engineer with the Army  investigated the feasability of a Canal his report recomended that a Canal be built. Over the next Century many surverys and studies where done and some groups even started construction of a Canal but failed. In 1904 August Perry Belmount president of the Boston Cape Cod and New York Canal Company conducted a engineering study and on favorable results started construction on the Cape Cod Canal in May of 1909.

Very little was accomplished during the first year due to winter storm in November causing the company to stop work until Spring of the next year. By 1910 the Canal project was fully underway and in September of 1910 the Buzzards Bay Railroad Bridge was completed consisting of a single span 160 feet long. The weight of the span was balanced with one huge counterweight. In 1911 and 1912 the Bourne and Sagamore bridges where completed each of the highway bridges consisted of 2 spans and functioned like a draw bridge.

By 1914 ony one dam seperated the two waterways of Cape Cod Bay and Buzzards Bay and on July 29, 1914 the Cape Cod Canal opened as a privately operated toll waterway. The Canal was first opened with a depth of 15 feet with it's target depth of 25 feet. Serveral serious accidents occured in Belmonts Canal causing many lengthy Canal closures and losses in revenue. By 1915 Belmont had already tried to sell his Canal failure to the Federal Goverment and in March of 1928 Belmonts Canal was sold to the Federal Goverment for $11,500,000.

On March 13th, 1928 Congress  directed the U.S Army Corps of Engineers to operate and improve the Canal. The Corps of Engineers then learned from users of the Canal how it could improve naigation in the Canal. Then the 2 draw bridges where removed and 2 fixed high level bridges replaced the 2 draw bridges and then on June 21st, 1935 the two highway bridges where opened to traffic. These bridges are the very same bridges that exist today, In December of 1935 the Buzzards Bay Railroad Bridge was completed as it exists today. The Corps then went on to widen and deepen the Canal to be 480 feet wide and 32 feet deep . In 1940 the widening and deeping of the 17.4 mile canal was completed making the Cape Cod Canal the widest sea level Canal in the world.