DPW Director Chris Cignoli said at a recent Forest Park Civic Association meeting that the $22.7 million “X” reconstruction project, a roadway initiative over 10 years in the making, is basically ready to commence.
Reminder Publishing photo by Ryan Feyre
SPRINGFIELD — Although a concrete schedule is still up in the air, one of Springfield’s largest roadway projects in the city’s recent history is expected to make headway this year.
DPW Director Chris Cignoli said that the $22.7 million “X” reconstruction project, a roadway initiative over 10 years in the making, is basically ready to commence and residents should expect to see some utility work happening throughout this year.
“All the permits, all the approvals for the project are in place,” Cignoli said. “The project is ready to go.”
During a public gathering with the Forest Park Civic Association on March 25 at 52 Sumner Ave., Cignoli said MassDOT is in the process of reviewing short-term and long-term construction schedules. At the time of the meeting, Cignoli said schedules were not available yet, however, an update on the Massachusetts state website anticipates site preparation activity and third-party utility work to start sometime in the spring.
The state’s timeline also tentatively expects utility work to occur over the next few years and for roadway construction to officially begin sometime in summer 2028.
When done, the project will fix what city officials say is an antiquated section of Springfield, where a tattered pavement, lack of bike lanes and “awful” pedestrian crossings are exacerbated by a growth of vehicles on the road, as well as an increase in accidents and motorists speeding.
Reconstruction of the roadway, encompassing Sumner Avenue at Dickinson Street and Belmont Avenue, will include the addition of transition lanes, new traffic signals and traffic signal coordination; 5-foot bicycle lanes plus widening and reconstruction of sidewalks to shared-use paths; pedestrian facility and accessibility upgrades; as well as replacement of street lighting, furnishings and landscaping.
According to the state website, the project begins at the Sumner Avenue intersection with Churchill Street and continues 3,400 feet east to the intersection with Daytona Street. The Belmont Avenue project limits begin just northwest of its intersection with Burlington Street and continue 1,650 feet south to the intersection with Ormond Street. Meanwhile, the Dickinson Street segment begins at the intersection with Burlington Street and runs south 1,050 feet to the intersection with Cliftwood Street.
Aside from those areas, the project will also affect Lenox Street, Ormond Street, Burlington Street, Oakland Street and Commonwealth Avenue, the state website says.
“By far, this is probably the largest roadway project we’ve done in the city since we did State Street [Corridor Project],” Cignoli said. “We’re doing this [project] to get speeds down, and we’re doing it to make it safer.”
“The other thing this project is going to do is get rid of a lot of cut-through traffic,” Cignoli continued.
The city’s updates on the project come several months after the City Council approved four partial land takings by eminent domain, permanent easements at five locations, and an additional 128 temporary easements where a new sidewalk is slated to be installed.
Despite the approval of these easements and land takings, which occurred at an October council meeting, Reminder Publishing reported that council members expressed outrage for finding out in the eleventh hour that they would need to vote on land taking and easements during that meeting or risk losing the state-funded project: tinyurl.com/hrppjhvb.
Still, the council understood the need of the project and approved the easements despite their objections.
“This is not a want; this is a need,” said City Councilor Victor Davila, whose ward includes the X. “It’s a dangerous intersection.”
During the public meeting on March 25, Cignoli said that MassDOT — the ones spearheading the project’s construction — recently hired an outreach consultant to set up platforms so people can know what is happening with the project’s progress.
In other updates, City Forester Alex Sherman said that the initial project had the city losing around 130 of the 163 trees in the project area. However, after some pushback from residents in the neighborhood, the most recent iteration of the project has the city losing only 58 trees.
Sherman said a number of those trees are in poor health condition and have showed signs of infestation.
When the project is finally finished, the city plans to plant 118 new trees.
“I think overall, it was great that the neighborhood came out and made their voice known about the original plan and the loss of those trees, and I think this project reflects that sentiment,” Sherman said. “We’ve been able to improve the project.”
Sherman added that the Forestry Department will walk through the project area with Baltazar, the contractor, to make sure the trees staying during construction are protected “so that they remain healthy and viable once the project is complete.”
Cignoli said that MassDOT is planning a public presentation of the entire project on May 14. As of press time, no time for the meeting was unveiled.
In his comments about the project, Sarno said that he hopes MassDOT continues to clearly communicate with the businesses and residents of Springfield as project updates unfold over the next several years.
He also told the public that he appreciates their patience and understanding throughout the project’s process.
“The X is a major thoroughfare here in the city of Springfield, and I wish I had the power to snap my fingers and get this done yesterday,” Sarno said. “It’s going to take some time, but it’s going to be for the betterment not only of the residents, but for the business community here in the X area.”
Readers can learn more about updates to the project by visiting the state’s website or DPW’s Facebook page: mass.gov/the-x-springfield.
The public meeting on March 25 will be up on Focus Springfield’s YouTube page, as well.
