A distraught Cape Cod widow will see her home of more than 24 years demolished to make way for a new bridge.
Joyce Michaud, 80, is among 13 unlucky residents who will have their properties flattened by Massachusetts officials as part of the $2.1 billion project to replace the Sagamore Bridge.
Michaud's three-bedroom home will be bulldozed to make room for workers' equipment and will eventually become a basin to catch storm water rolling off the bridge, The Boston Globe reported.
'[I thought:] "I'm all set. My kids don't have to worry. I'm all set",' she told The Globe. 'And now, I'm not.
'It's really hard to lose something that you thought was yours.'
The residence is being seized through eminent domain, which allows the state to take property for public use.
An additional 17 properties will be partially acquired. Seven vacant properties will also be seized.
Meanwhile, neighbors who have been spared demolition say they are dreading the onslaught of traffic and noisy works which will take place for the next ten years during construction of the new bridge, which connects Cape Cod to the mainland.
Joyce Michaud, 80, of Sagamore, (second right) thought she had her retirement set and a great place to live with views of the water and the Sagamore Bridge. But next week, the retiree will be forced out of her Cecilia Terrace home to make way for construction of a new bridge.
She has to move out of her home, which she's lived in since 2002, as part of the State of Massachusetts' $2.1billion project to replace the 90-year-old bridge.
The Commonwealth State is paying homeowners an above-market rate for their properties.
Luisa Paiewonsky, the executive director of MassDOT's project, said homeowners could also rent their property from the state if they needed extra time to move, but many of those affected balked at the idea of having to rent their properties.
She also said the government agency started the process early as to not rush residents out of the homes.
'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,' she told The Globe.
The state has not said how much it would spend on the acquisitions nor how many homes they believe they'll have to seize to fix the Bourne Bridge, the next project. Both projects are projected to cost the state $4.5billion, The Globe reported.
Joan and Marc Hendel were notified in March that their home would be seized, they told the Daily Mail in August.
The couple purchased a vacant 0.64-acre land parcel in Bourne's Round Hill neighborhood sight unseen for $165,000 in December 2023.
They spent another $460,000 to build their dream 1,700 square foot home with three bedrooms and three bathrooms on the lot.
When they bought the home, they were not made aware of the bridge project and put thousands of dollars into renovations.
But they won't get to reap the benefits of their dream home, as they're among the 13 getting the boot.
The Hendels say they feel 'blindsided' by the construction plan, claiming that neither their realtor nor the city of Bourne - which issued their building permit - warned them it was likely they would soon be pushed out of the cul-de-sac.
They fear anything they'll be able to buy with the cash given to them by the government will be older and of a much lower quality.
'They are 900 square feet. They are from 1970. They’re in disrepair,' Marc told the Daily Mail.
'And then the next thing we’re seeing are houses in the $1.5 to $2million range.'
Even if the state did buy them a $1.5million home, which it could do, the Hendels say they could not afford the 'additional expenses', such as increased property taxes.
But even for those who get to stay in their homes, they're not anymore excited about the project, which will bring loud equipment and crews into their quaint space.
Dave Collins lives down the road from Michaud and doesn't have to lose his property, but he's wondering if it'd be a better idea to leave anyway.
Those who get to stay in their homes are worried about the loud equipment and crews which will be present for the next ten years (pictured: the Sagamore Bridge)
'They're taking the whole neighborhood,' Collins, 82, told The Globe.
He's lived in the neighborhood since the 1960s, and his father-in-law developed the neighborhood, naming the streets after his children, he told the outlet.
He is not only worried about the incoming noise but that his property value will tumble once the project is underway.
'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,' he told the outlet.
Massachusetts received a $933million grant from the federal government in July 2024 for the Cape Bridges Replacement Project.
The remaining costs of the project are expected to be covered by the US Department of Transportation's Bridge Investment Program.
Built in 1935, the Cape Cod bridges are old and in desperate need of repair. They were designed to last 50 years, so both have been operating for almost double the recommended time.
Although both the Sagamore Bridge and its sister, the Bourne Bridge, need to be replaced, officials are first putting their efforts toward the Sagamore Bridge because of its heavy traffic flow.
When the bridges opened, they saw a combined one million vehicles travel along them each year.
The Daily Mail has contacted MassDOT for comment.