As rail project continues, Madison and Jefferson shut down between Ninth and 11th streets

It's go time for the closure of Madison and Jefferson streets.

Michael Mendenhall, the Springfield Rail Improvements Project (SRIP) manager, confirmed at an open house for the project at the Bank of Springfield Center late last week that both major east-west thoroughfares will be closed between Ninth and 11th streets beginning Wednesday.

Now that fiber optic line relocations have been made, the only thing hampering the start date, Mendenhall said, is weather. The Springfield area is at an "enhanced risk" for severe weather, including possible tornadoes, going into Tuesday night, according to the National Weather Service in Lincoln.

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Those locales will be closed for the next 14 months as part of the overall $475 million project.

This particular phase of the project cost $68 million, Mendenhall said. United Contractors Midwest of Springfield is overseeing the work.

The detour route will be Ninth and Carpenter streets and 11th Street and Carpenter for local traffic, Mendenhall said. Truck traffic will be detoured at Clear Lake Avenue onto Dirksen Parkway, which becomes Veterans Parkway, and back to Jefferson.

A new Norfolk Southern rail line is being constructed on the 10th Street corridor. Underpasses without center piers, similar to one at Ash Street, Mendenhall said, will go in at Madison and Jefferson.

The major difference with this project and the underpasses at Ash, Laurel and Carpenter? Time, Mendenhall said.

"In general, underpasses have been taking about two years to construct," he said. "We've designed some elements into it, to allow that construction to occur quicker and have shortened up the contractor's schedule as well, forcing them into a little tighter timeframe.

"There is a little bit additional cost to it, but we feel it's well worth it for the community to be able to reduce the closure from two years down to 14 months roughly."

The tighter timeframe also takes into account the average daily traffic that is on Madison and Jefferson, said Nate Bottom, the director of the city's Office of Public Works.

About 10,000 vehicles travel on those two streets daily, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation.

In addition to Carpenter, Bottom said he anticipated more people using Cook Street and South Grand Avenue.

Because of the closures at Madison and Jefferson, the city is trying to coordinate any street closures to minimize the impact, like not having Cook or South Grand closed at the same time and trying to keep North Grand open as long as possible, he added.

Motorists should allow for some additional time to travel around the detour route, Mendenhall said. He also encouraged them to be patient, reduce their speeds around the construction zone and exercise caution.

Signs and dynamic message boards will help guide motorists around detour routes, Mendenhall added.

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There will be slightly different traffic patterns, including multiple turn lanes at Madison northbound onto Ninth and at Jefferson northbound onto 11th. Traffic signal modifications, including timing adjustments and new signal heads, will try to help minimize congestion in the area, Mendenhall added.

A deputy chief from the Springfield Police Department said earlier that traffic personnel will be in the area to enforce the new detours and signage.

John Meyer of Springfield said he uses Madison and Jefferson weekly at the closure points and said he would use Carpenter or Cook to get east and west in the meantime.

"I think the project is so worthwhile that I certainly do not mind a detour for (that long)," Meyer said, exiting last week's open house. "It's been a long time in coming and it'll just be a wonderful thing for it to finally happen. It's better for the whole community. You're going to have better traffic flow certainly in the long run and that in itself makes it worth it.

"It just takes a little bit of patience for it to come to fruition."

The overall project is not quite at the two-thirds juncture. Major projects yet to come include a new underpass at North Grand between Ninth and 11th and an overpass on North Grand to the east near Robin Roberts Stadium.

Bids on the Springfield-Sangamon County Transportation Hub, designed to bring together Amtrak trains, SMTD buses, Greyhound buses, paratransit vehicles, airport shuttles and taxis just northeast of the Sangamon County building on Ninth, go out later this year.

The overall construction is scheduled for completion by the end of 2025.

With the construction of the Madison and Jefferson underpasses, "it's another chapter (of the project), for sure," Mendenhall said. "Once it shuts down and construction gets going, it'll be pretty exciting to see the contractor out there working and building it and we look forward to when it's complete."

Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788, sspearie@sj-r.com, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Madison and Jefferson streets will be shut down in Springfield IL