Families devastated homes will be destroyed for new Cape Cod bridge project

CBS News

07-03-2025

Marc and Joan Hendel moved from the Midwest to their dream home in Sagamore's Round Hill community only three months ago. It is a home they designed and built themselves, with the hopes of growing old there.
"We were looking and looking. It was very hard to find a home out here that we could afford on the Cape," said Marc Hendel.
The home sits atop a hill on John's Lane, overlooking the Sagamore Bridge, which they describe as an iconic Cape Cod landmark. "Upstairs from this very view, you can see the canal. Another reason why we chose this positioning of our home," said Joan Hendel.
Houses to be taken by eminent domain
The Hendel's new homeownership bliss was abruptly cut short by a single knock on the door, a visit from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.
"A person from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation handed a letter to us. We opened it," said Marc Hendel.
"Please accept this letter as notice that your property will be affected by this project," read the letter, in part.
The notice informed the couple that the state would be seizing their property through eminent domain as part of a new construction project.
"We cried, right, because it's devastating to us. This is heartbreaking to us that they're just coldly giving us a letter that says we're going to destroy your home," said Marc Hendel.
According to the MassDOT website, the repossession of the Hendel's home is part of a larger effort to improve traffic congestion coming to and from Cape Cod. The official plan entails tearing down the Sagamore Bridge and building a new, larger bridge even closer to the Hendels' home.
The Hendels recently found out that the new bridge will not be constructed on their property, rather the land that formerly contained their home will be used as a lot for equipment and, eventually, a green space.
"Basically, they want to use us as a storage property for their heavy equipment," said Joan Hendel.
The Hendels are not alone in their battle to save their home; The state is also looking to take the property of many of their neighbors. Many residents in the Round Hill neighborhood have lived there for decades and have no other viable living arrangements.
"It's uprooted everything"
For more than 60 years, David and Cecilia Collins have called Round Hill home. "My wife has lived here for even longer. Her father was John Gallow, who built this neighborhood," said David Collins.
The couple raised their children here and planned to keep their home in the family. "It's uprooted everything that we've ever thought about in our whole lives of having," said David Collins.
The determined residents have now joined forces to understand their options amid the threat of eminent domain. "We are speaking up, as a community, as a neighborhood family," said Joan Hendel.
According to George McLaughlin, a Boston attorney, the state must prove the project is in the public interest.
"With the Sagamore Bridge Project, you're not going to be able to defeat that taking. It's clearly a public purpose, and so the sole issue is, what is the fair market value of the properties taken on the taking date," said McLaughlin.
While the Hendels and their neighbors may be forced to sell their homes, they are entitled to determine the fair market price of their homes in court.
In a statement from MassDOT, the agency said, "We understand that this can be extremely challenging for impacted property owners, and MassDOT and our representatives are committed to meeting directly with them throughout the process to answer questions and provide information about compensation, timelines, and any necessary relocations."