Dear Cape Friends,
If you’re new here, welcome. If you’ve been with me for a while, welcome back! Each week I share Cape Cod real estate with a side of humor, common sense, and a splash of salt air.
I came across an article recently titled “Property takings for Sagamore Bridge to start in January,” and it really stood out to me. Eminent domain is one of those things we don’t think much about - until we do. It’s a reminder that large infrastructure projects, while necessary, can have very real and personal effects on everyday people.
Which felt like a fitting reason to write about our beloved Cape Cod bridges.
The Bourne and Sagamore Bridges date back to the 1930s, built for a Cape Cod that looked very different than it does today. Fewer cars. Fewer houses. A slower pace of life - and no WAZE app barking at you “Turn left here” …Shut up!
Years ago at the tail end of spectacular Labor Day weekend, I had the good fortune of not being on the bridge at all. A friend of mine, Hart Fessenden - a pilot - offered me a lift home from Chatham Airport to Westchester (White Plains Airport). Golf clubs included
As we climbed out of CQX, I looked down and saw it: a massive line of cars crawling toward the bridge. Easily six hours from Chatham. An endless ribbon of brake lights..
I remember turning to Hart and saying - through the cool Top Gun style headset - and saying, quite sincerely: “Those poor bastards down there”
(There may have been a stronger adjective involved. Aviators tend to loosen the vocabulary. Talk to me, Goose. I felt the need… the need for speed - back to Greenwich, CT.)😎
That moment stuck with me because it highlighted something people can overlook when talking about Cape Cod real estate. It’s not just about the house - it’s about access, timing, and how a place fits into your life. The same home can feel very different depending on how often you’re coming and going, and when.
The bridges are nearing the end of their useful lives, and plans are underway to replace them - not patch them, but rebuild them for the next 75–100 years. Better flow. Infrastructure that reflects how people actually live on and off the Cape.
Change like this always brings mixed emotions here. In that way, the bridges are a fitting metaphor for Cape Cod itself: Timeless in spirit, but never frozen in time.
Whether you’re inching along Route 6 on a summer Sunday afternoon, flying over the Canal at 3,000 feet, or lucky enough to be staying put while everyone else heads home, the bridges remind us that life on the Cape has always been a little bit special - and occasionally, a little bit complicated.
If you’ve got a favorite bridge story - good, bad, or six-hours-too-long I would genuinely love to hear it. And, If you’d like a calm, no-pressure check-in about where your Cape Cod property fits into this broader landscape, I’m always happy to offer perspective. And if you’re around Friday morning, I'll be at the Chatham Perk from 8:00–9:00 a.m. - the very BEST coffee on Cape Cod, bar none. (Remember, its on me!)
See you around the elbow,
Paul
P.S. If you’re starting to think about buying or selling, PaulBorde.com is a good place to browse listings, catch past newsletters, and stay current on the market - and, if I may say so, revisit a few of my Pulitzer Prize–level past newsletters.