SPRINGFIELD – The Mill Street Reconstruction Project, an endeavor to address the street’s cracked and bumpy asphalt from South A. St. to Centennial Blvd., is on pace to be completed by next spring.
Lisa Hingley lives on Mill St. in the construction zone with her two children, 19 and 13. She said she’s thankful the City is doing something about Mill St.’s problems and hopes “this time it’s not just a band-aid.”
According to capital engineering manager Kristi Krueger, this project is much more than a band-aid. On the surface, it may look like the road’s asphalt is the sole problem which the City must address. In actuality, “it’s the base, the subsurface, all the rock, and everything underneath it,” Krueger said.
She added that the sewer and stormwater lines also need to be replaced. Further emphasizing that this project is not just a quick fix, Krueger said the street’s asphalt will be replaced for concrete because it lasts longer than asphalt.
The Mill Street Reconstruction Project is also a chance for the City to improve amenities for bicyclists and pedestrians. Right now, there are no bicycle facilities on Mill St., but the project will remove parking on the east side of the street to add bicycle facilities, as it is a legal requirement from the State for this road to have a bicycle lane.
The cracked pavement is just the tip of the iceberg for Mill Street.
Another concern Hingley brought up was the need to encourage drivers to drive the speed limit, especially considering Meadow Park is on Mill St. Krueger mentioned the project will include traffic combing, referring to speed humps.
“We’re very excited to get this done for the citizens,” Krueger said. “It’s been a high location request for many years.”
The project is currently in the phase in which Springfield Utility Board is “moving water and electric utilities to allow for the City’s new street design and its features, including street trees and a bike lane,” according to SUB community relations manager Meredith Clark.
“This kind of water and electric infrastructure work paves the way for the rest of the road improvement project,” Clark said. “The project involves installing underground conduit and vaults, moving power poles, and relocating water lines and some fire hydrants.”
Krueger said SUB’s deadlines for electric and water are June 28 and May 23, respectively, meaning SUB’s work must be finished by the end of June.
Upon SUB’s completion, the next step will be for the project bid to be advertised through ODOT from May 17-June 13. ODOT will be responsible for providing the selected contractor with notice to proceed Aug. 2. This part of the process is managed by ODOT because the Mill Street Reconstruction Project is a federal aid project, which requires it to go through this specific federal process.
