Representatives from MassDOT and Alfred Benesch provided design updates to the Birnie Avenue/Gerena School Pedestrian Tunnel project during an April 2 meeting.
Reminder Publishing photo by Ryan Feyre
SPRINGFIELD — Due to ongoing water infiltration and speeding concerns, MassDOT is spearheading a reconstruction of Birnie Avenue at the Genera School Pedestrian Tunnel.
During a public hearing about the project on April 2, representatives from MassDOT and Alfred Benesch & Company — the engineering contractor — said that there is no official timeline for the project yet, but they are currently taking additional public comments through email to help inform the project’s design.
As of right now, 25% design plans have been submitted.
“From there, the city of Springfield will extend the contract with Benesch to continue the design into the 75[%] and then 100%,” said Yaseen Abdullah, the project manager from MassDOT. “But no timeline is set as of now.”
The project, which costs $4.2 million, covers about 750 feet along Birnie Avenue from about the Interstate 91 southbound off-ramp through the south parking lot of Gerena Community School.
Abdullah said the project’s costs are addressed through federal aid funding.
“This project must be programmed in the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program in the appropriate federal fiscal year in order for MassDOT to solicit bids for eventual construction,” Abdullah said. “The total estimated cost of the project does not include any right-of-way acquisition costs and construction is expected to be completed within two construction seasons from advertisement.”
According to Ashley Bomely, the Benesch project manager, reconstruction of this tunnel area is necessary because past water infiltration that occurred in the tunnel below Birnie Avenue into the lower level of Gerena Community School has caused deterioration to the tunnel structure.
Because of this, MassDOT and Benesch are proposing repairs to the structure itself, including a new concrete topping slab on top of existing beams, as well as new groundwater pumps and water protection barriers outside of the structure.
The project also addresses some of the speeding concerns on Birnie Avenue. According to the project description, new pavement will be placed from the I-91 southbound off-ramp to the southern Gerena School parking lot entrance, and the roadway will be re-striped to allow two travel lanes plus a bus queuing lane for school operations.
As for other safety measures, the sidewalk adjacent to Gerena will be reconstructed as a 14-foot-wide shared use path to move bicycles and pedestrians to the sidewalk area, away from vehicles and the bus queuing section.
Bomely said the sidewalk opposite the school will also be reconstructed to follow ADA criteria, and a raised speed table will be implemented to mitigate speeding problems.
“The speed table will slow vehicles down while also sending stormwater runoff away from the tunnel structure,” the project description says.
According to MassDOT, the reconstruction requires one temporary easement as of right now, but representatives said that could change based on the evolution of the design.
Construction approach
Construction will be phased in two stages, according to Bomely. During stage 1, the left lane of Birnie Avenue will be fully closed to traffic from the I-91 southbound off-ramp through the southern Gerena parking lot entrance.
Bomely said pedestrians will still have full use of the sidewalk along the school property, and vehicles coming off the I-91 southbound ramp will be required to stop and yield to vehicles traveling on Birnie Avenue.
To accommodate stage 2 of construction, the right lane and bus queuing area of Birnie Avenue will be fully closed from the I-91 southbound ramp through the southern Gerena School parking lot entrance.
MassDOT said that there will be ongoing coordination with the school to ensure access to the school is provided during construction, and much like stage 1 of construction, vehicles coming off the I-91 southbound ramp will be required to stop and yield to vehicles traveling on Birnie Avenue.
Pedestrians will have access to the newly constructed sidewalk on the eastern side of road during stage 2 of construction.
Public comment
Many of the commenters at the April 2 meeting emphasized student safety during the construction period, especially since the construction area impacts not only Gerena, but also the surrounding Brightwood-Lincoln Elementary School and Chestnut TAG Middle School.
School Committee member Joesiah Gonzalez suggested that MassDOT install a physical barrier near the bus queuing area to help prevent vehicles speeding and asked if the city’s DPW could have someone out during construction managing traffic control.
“Not only do we have the school there, but also just a tad bit further down the road, we have a three-story youth center, and we already have issues there with folks coming out, cars being hit,” Gonzalez said. “The bottleneck, I would assume … is going to increase the propensity of potential hazards there for folks that are pulling out into Bernie Avenue. So, again, all the way around, I think there needs to be traffic management.”
Elizabeth Johnson from WalkBike Springfield suggested bringing Birnie Avenue down to one lane and proposed a series of speed humps, rather than just one speed table, to help reduce traffic speeds on the road.
She also expressed concern about drop off and pick up at Gerena School during construction, especially as lanes close.
“Some additional accommodations need to be looked at,” Johnson said.
Readers looking to submit comments or concerns about the project can email MassDOTProjectManagement@dot.state.ma.us. At the time of the April 2 meeting, MassDOT said they would accept comments for another two weeks.
People can also read prior Reminder Publishing coverage of this project for more information: tinyurl.com/yp6t2c42.
