Construction for Springfield’s Rail Improvement Project began in 2014 with construction of an underpass at Carpenter and 10th streets and the final phase will begin next month.
Over the last decade-plus, new railroad bridges have been constructed at Fifth, Sixth, Ash, Laurel and Cook streets and South Grand Avenue with underpasses constructed at Madison and Jefferson streets.
The Springfield Sangamon County Transportation Hub, known as The Hub, is centered between Washington and Monroe streets downtown. Construction of the Springfield Mass Transit District Transfer Center, situated along the east side of the tracks, was completed in 2025.
Construction is ongoing for a new Amtrak station and parking garage, which will be on the west side of the tracks. A pedestrian bridge will connect the two. This project has a completion date of 2027.
In January, the last of the railroad track improvements will begin where it started, on Springfield’s north side, with Usable Segment 6a and 6b. However, the section of North Grand Avenue between Sixth and 11th streets has already been an active construction zone for several months. Utility work in the form of water main reconstruction is set to conclude at the end of 2025, weather permitting.
Mike Mendenhall, senior structural engineer at Hanson Professional Services, said that underpass construction at North Grand Avenue from Ninth to 11th streets is scheduled to begin in early January. This construction phase for Usable Segment 6b will take approximately one year.
A section of the 10th Street railroad tracks that swings east and then north of Carpenter Street before meeting up with the 19th Street tracks will soon be rerouted directly north, passing through the bisected Illinois Environmental Protection Agency building. The tracks will continue between Caritas Bingo Hall and Computer Banc, joining with the current Third Street tracks at Converse. Once this underpass is completed, contractors will construct an at-grade crossing at Converse Street.
Usable Segment 6a will begin construction about the same time and is expected to be completed by fall of 2027. The major focus of Usable Segment 6a is to build a new overpass and roadway that will be constructed just south of the current North Grand Avenue over the 19th Street tracks. The roadway will tie back into the existing North Grand Avenue between 11th and 19th streets.
“There will be a portion of the old North Grand Avenue that will remain,” Mendenhall said. “It will be an access road to Memorial Stadium and Robin Roberts Stadium and will be renamed Robin Roberts Road.”
The road will provide one lane of traffic in each direction with parking on each side of the roadway. Construction with parking has already been completed along Michigan Avenue.
Jamie Toole, co-owner and manager of the Springfield Lucky Horseshoes, said he knows there are going to be growing pains throughout the two-year construction but is confident that it will be worth it.
“From our perspective, it’s great for our community and great for the north end,” said Toole. He noted the sweeping changes on Springfield’s north side, which includes not just the railroad construction along North Grand Avenue, but the renovations at Lanphier High School and the demolition of the former Pillsbury Mills complex.
The Lucky Horseshoes have their own changes in the works, with the transfer of ownership of Robin Roberts Stadium from the Springfield Park District to Friends of Robin Roberts Stadium, a nonprofit dedicated to the revitalization and sustainability of the facility. Last year, the group unveiled architectural plans prepared by Springfield firm J.H. Petty and Associates that outlined significant proposed improvements and renovations.
“We’re going to get creative for parking and other challenges over the next couple of seasons,” said Toole. “This is good for our community and good for us.”
Toole is pleased that cars on the overpass will be able to look down and see what’s happening in Robin Roberts Stadium. “The onus is on us to make sure this facility looks as good as the overpass when it’s completed,” he said.
Mendenhall remarked that he, a lifetime resident of Springfield, and the staff at Hanson Professional Services are pleased about the project. “The whole project will transform the whole city,” he said.
Mendenhall said that ballast – the large rocks under the concrete or wooden ties for the tracks – has been brought in by the contractor over the last couple of months to begin track construction, which is also expected to be wrapped up by fall 2027. Mendenhall said he hopes drivers will “use extreme caution in work zones as there will be a lot of construction in the North Grand Avenue area as well as the at-grade crossings in 2026 and 2027.”
Once work is completed in 2027 and the tracks shift, the current Third Street tracks will be decommissioned with plans to transform the former railway into The Linc, a shared-use pedestrian and bike trail that connects the city from north to south. It will connect the Illinois State Fairgrounds to Junction Circle near the intersection of MacArthur Boulevard and Wabash Avenue.
The city of Springfield is working on plans for a feasibility study for the current 19th Street rail corridor with hopes that future improvements will mimic the proposed infrastructure and quality of life improvements of the Third Street corridor.
Carey Smith is a north end resident who is over the moon to see how the north end is transformed in the coming years.
This article appears in December 25-31, 2025.
