The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has fully obligated $157,126,494 from the FRA CRISI grant program for the final segment of the Springfield (Ill.) Rail Improvements Project, allowing construction to move forward.
The announcement was made May 12 by Rep. Nikki Budzinski (D-Ill.) and Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, both Democrats from Illinois.
The $544 million multi-phased project is also supported by state and local funding from the Illinois Department of Transportation, the Illinois Commerce Commission, and the City of Springfield, among others. It is designed to alleviate rail congestion in downtown Springfield by consolidating rail traffic from Third Street to 10th Street and building a series of overpasses (one) and underpasses (eight) and reconstructing four railroad bridges along the corridor (see maps, top; watch video, below).
The final phase of the project includes rail improvements, track realignment—consolidating the Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern corridors into one multi-track corridor through the city, which will advance efforts to provide a higher-speed intercity passenger rail connection between St. Louis and Chicago—and the construction of a new Amtrak station in Springfield, as part of a new multimodal transportation center that is slated to improve public transportation connectivity among intercity passenger rail and local and intercity bus services.
“Rail traffic in Springfield is expected to increase from 35 trains per day to 81 trains per day by 2030, and Springfield has 68 at-grade rail crossings,” according to Hanson Professional Services, which was selected by the City to lead the design and land acquisition for the project and is responsible for providing overall engineering design services and project management. “When the 10th Street rail corridor is complete, Springfield’s at-grade crossings will decrease to 32, with eight new underpasses and one new overpass. The overall Springfield Rail Improvements Project is intended to increase safety by reducing the number of at-grade crossings, congestion, and vehicle emissions, decreasing noise by creating a ‘quiet zone’ for the rail corridor, and enhancing livability and commercial activity by diminishing the barriers created by rail lines through commercial and residential areas.” Additionally, the project will “enhance rail line capacity to accommodate and reduce the effects of the increasing high-speed passenger- and freight-train traffic on the three north-south rail corridors, including UP, NS and CN/Illinois & Midland.”
“Investing in our rail infrastructure is critical for growing our economy and making it safer, faster, and more efficient for people and goods to get where they need to go,” Sen. Duckworth said in the May 12 funding announcement. “After pushing for this project for years alongside Sen. Durbin, Rep. Budzinski, and our local leaders, I’m grateful to see this final phase of the Springfield Rail Improvements Project moving toward completion. This federal investment will go a long way in helping us build a new multimodal transportation center, improve efficiency for passengers traveling between St. Louis and Chicago, and support good-paying jobs, while making Springfield safer for pedestrians and drivers. I’ll keep working with Sen. Durbin and Rep. Budzinski to ensure that our communities are receiving the much-needed federal resources they deserve.”
“This CRISI grant will complete the funding for the new 10th Street rail corridor as part of the Springfield Rail Improvement Project,” added Hanson Chairman and CEO Sergio Pecori. “This will allow the Union Pacific and Amtrak to operate on a new rail corridor and historically transform rail traffic in the City of Springfield for generations.”
