The MDM was a legendary Cape Cod traffic jam back in 2012. Work on the Sagamore Bridge featured lane closures, which resulted in traffic being backed up for miles.
That's not unusual in the summer, when the population of Cape Cod doubles and we are swarmed with day-trippers. It is very unusual in late Spring, when it is still too cold to go to the beaches.
Cape Cod, or at least the Upper Cape, ground to a standstill. People still talk about that jam (and an even worse one as Hurricane Bob approached) when speaking of landmark traffic events.
Cape Cod is stuffed full of old people. Old people, due to travel difficulty considerations and the fact that Grandmas tend to cook better than Grandchildren, often are the hosts for family holiday celebrations.
That's why the song doesn't go "Over the river and through the woods, I'm making my 87 year old mother drive through Boston traffic to my house she goes."
No, it is easier if you go to Grandma's. She usually lives in the sticks, too. This leads to less traffic... generally.
The reason we bring this up is because today is Easter. It is a major travel day.
And lanes are closed on the Bourne Bridge.
I called the Army, but they don't take calls at 6 AM on Easter morning. The Bourne Police told me that there will be lane closures today.
They have been working triple shifts on the bridge, so it's not like they're slacking. While lane closures on Easter are no fun, they can't do this work in snow, and it is better to close lanes on Easter than it is to close them on the 4th of July.
We are just informing you, not complaining to you.
We are quite uncertain as we go to press as to whether or not today will be problematic, and there is division among our staff.
The pro-jam staff simply say, "Holiday lane closures on one of the two ways on/off Cape Cod." They then rest their argument.
However, some aspects will work against the odds of another landmark jam. The Bourne Bridge gets about half of the traffic that the Sagamore Bridge gets. It seems to be pretty murky today, and that will limit day-tripping. Easter is a major holiday, not a minor, don't-get-work-off holiday like Momma Day, and that will significantly lower volume.
There is only one way to find out. As they say in fantasy football, "That's why they play the games, folks."
If we get that way today, and we just may do so, we will provide an update. Otherwise, we would like to wish you and yours a Happy Easter.
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