The Sangamon Mass Transit District has purchased 25 acres of land to construct a new, off-street secondary hub and access road. Illinois Times previously reported that SMTD plans to remove the current transfer point on Junction Circle, located south of Stanford Avenue and east of MacArthur Boulevard, and replace it with a new facility.
The acquisition cost $1.5 million and was paid for with $954,552 in Rebuild Illinois grants, $470,640 in federal grants and $74,807 in SMTD local funds, according to a written statement from Steve Schoeffel, the managing director of SMTD. Schoeffel estimated the total cost for the project at around $12-$13 million. SMTD has secured about $6.9 million so far in state funds and is applying for additional state funding.
The land acquired at 350 W. North Street extends east of the Hyundai dealership and west to the railroad tracks crossing Stanford Avenue. Access roads will be built from North Street and Stanford Avenue.
The planned facility will be about seven-tenths of a mile from the current Junction Circle Transfer Point.
“SMTD believes the area around the current on-street transfer point at Junction Circle will develop quickly over the next decade, and a major product of this move to a permanent off-street facility is improved safety for passengers, bus operators and the driving public by getting out of what could develop into a very busy, very congested area,” Schoeffel said.
“The location is also close to the proposed trailhead for The LINC Greenway, which will provide a new pedestrian and bicycle connection to downtown and beyond on the current Third Street rail corridor,” he said.
The Junction Circle Transfer Point entails three separate bus stops with bus shelters. A bus parking lane allows the buses to stay parked without disrupting the flow of traffic.
The bus stops border farm land, and across the street to the north is an open field. The new transfer point will feature outdoor shelters and inside break areas for drivers. An access road will be built to connect the facility to the main street.
“We move a lot of passengers through that transfer point, so it makes sense for us to build a more permanent facility,” Schoeffel told Illinois Times. The on-street location will not close until the new facility opens, he said.
The new layout will entail buses entering into a facility park.
“So, it’s safer,” Schoeffel said.
The bus lines that transfer at Junction Circle run further south and west and are relied upon by workers and students going back and forth from the University of Illinois Springfield campus to apartments south of Wabash Avenue, he said.
Schoefel said he expects the project to be completed in five years, but the exact timeline has not been determined. The next step is for an architecture and engineering firm to be selected. Once a design has been completed, the project will go out for bid and a contractor selected. Every selection must be approved by the Illinois Department of Transportation, he said.
