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4/11/2023
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Illinois Department of Transportation and other state and local officials last week marked the start of construction on a $68.3 million underpass in Springfield.
The underpass at Madison and Jefferson streets is a major component of the $475 million Springfield Rail Improvements Project, which will separate rail tracks from regular vehicle traffic to reduce traffic congestion, improve transportation safety and serve as an economic and downtown redevelopment catalyst.
The project calls for creating a 6-mile rail corridor with two sets of tracks along the existing 10th Street rail corridor in the heart of the city. The goal is to consolidate all freight- and passenger-rail traffic — involving Amtrak, CN, Norfolk Southern Railway and Union Pacific Railroad — onto one rail corridor instead of the two that exist now. The Amtrak/UP and NS corridors run through downtown Springfield.
The underpass construction work calls for Madison and Jefferson streets to be lowered and new rail bridges to be constructed to create a set of double tracks for the existing NS and the proposed UP and Amtrak lines, according to a press release issued by Illinois Senate Democrats.
Madison and Jefferson streets will be closed between Ninth and 11th streets for 14 months to complete the project, state officials said.
The two streets carry a combined 20,000 vehicles a day, serving as a critical link for police, firefighters and two nearby hospitals. Funding for the improvements comes from $13.5 million via the Federal Railroad Administration, $30.9 million from the Illinois Commerce Commission and $23.9 million from IDOT, including $7.4 million through the Rebuild Illinois program.
To learn more about the larger project, subscribe to RailPrime to read this feature story.