SPRINGFIELD — Springfield was awarded a $2.8 million MassWorks Infrastructure Program grant to reconstruct West and Plainfield streets from Main Street to the North End Bridge. At the Oct. 21 Springfield City Council meeting, DPW Director Chris Cignoli said the focus of the reconstruction will be on pedestrian traffic safety measures.
Three years ago, the city received a $400,000 grant to complete design work for the project. Cignoli said his department is coordinating with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, as the North End Bridge is scheduled to be widened and redesigned, with work beginning in 2027.
Councilor Brian Santaniello asked the cost of the bridge replacement. Cignoli shared that the price tag was $100 million. Santaniello’s eyes went wide, while Councilor Kateri Walsh exclaimed, “Woah!”
When discussing pedestrian safety, Cignoli cited the Pride gas station on the corner of West and Avocado streets as an area of concern. The half mile of road being reconstructed includes four crosswalks that span four lanes of traffic.
Councilor Maria Perez said two people have died at the intersection just before the bridge. According to the MassDOT IMPACT crash data portal, a 51-year-old man was killed at the bridge on West Street in March 2017 and a 27-year-old man died near the intersection of West and Plainfield streets in November 2018. IMPACT portal data goes back to 2015. “So, the community’s excited about [the project] and, finally, we are doing something with that crosswalk there,” she said.
Councilor Jose Delgado noted that the Pride station is not the only feature in the area that draws pedestrian traffic. He said he would like to see a left turn lane at the Pioneer Valley Riverfront Club.
The City Council voted to accept the grant, which will not require matching funds.
The council also voted to approve another large project: a $2.5 million bond for a feasibility study of German Gerena Community School. The feasibility study is being done in conjunction with the Massachusetts School Building Authority, an agency that reimburses municipalities for some of the costs associated with the construction or repair of schools.
Capital Asset Construction Director Peter Garvey said the city was accepted into the MSBA’s eligibility period early this year. Since then, the School Department has submitted all the necessary paperwork, including an educational profile, enrollment projections and a maintenance and capital plan, in preparation for the feasibility study. With the approval of the feasibility study, the next steps will be to hire an owner’s project manager, begin preliminary designs and explore possible locations for a new school.
The school was originally built in 1972. Flooding due to a water main break prompted a renovation of the building in the mid-1990s.
Perez said that, as a former member of the School Committee, the Gerena School project has been one of her priorities. “It’s been 10 years in the making,” she said, adding that it will take another five years before school construction is complete.
Delgado, whose daughter attends the school, said he grew up on Plainfield Street and knows “the horrors of that building.”
He remarked, “I wish it would have happened a lot sooner, but this is definitely a much-needed building, particularly for kids who live in probably the poorest neighborhood in the state.”
Councilor Sean Curran said Springfield is “leading the way” with school construction and specifically called out projects at Roger L. Putnam Vocational Technical Academy, Elias Brookings School and Brightwood Elementary School.
