High-Speed Rail (10th Street Corridor) Project

The 10th Street Corridor Project in Springfield, Illinois is part of a 1.6 billion dollar High-Speed Rail Improvement Project stretching over 284 miles from Chicago to St. Louis. Costing roughly $314 million dollars, the 10th Street Corridor section consists of relocating the existing rail line on 3rd Street to 10th Street. This relocation will also include rail improvements, underpasses, and an overpass.

According to the City of Springfield, the project will be completed in segments with the first segment more than likely starting at Carpenter Street. This project is still in the design phase, but if federal funding is approved construction could start as early as 2014.

The money is there for design work; the question is will the money be there for land acquisition and construction?

The plan to consolidate railways in Springfield and pave the way for the proposed high speed rail from Chicago to St. Louis is taking shape and design work has ramped up in recent months.

The first piece of construction could start in mid-2014 with the installation of an underpass where Carpenter Street crosses the 10th Street tracks, and the entire project could be completed by 2020 if funding comes through.

Jim Moll, project manager for Hanson Professional Services, is overseeing the consolidation designs under a contract with the City of Springfield. Moll says the project has yet to be fully funded, but engineers are already analyzing soil samples and other conditions along the 10th Street corridor. The design work is funded by an $8.65 million grant from the Illinois Department of Transportation.

While much of the design work remains to be completed, the current plan calls for Union Pacific’s Third Street rails to follow the Norfolk Southern’s 10th Street rails through most of Springfield. Currently, the two railroads split north of the Stanford Avenue overpass. New road underpasses where Ash, Laurel, Jefferson, Madison and Carpenter streets currently cross the 10th Street tracks will allow cars to instead pass beneath the pair of train tracks.

Before construction can start, however, houses and other buildings in the path of the proposed consolidation must be purchased and moved. Hanson and other planning firms are currently working to determine what land must be acquired, and landowners may start receiving invitations for meetings in the fall to learn about the land acquisition process.

Full Story here.

If you think you may be affected by the 10th Street Springfield Rail Corridor and/or are interested in a free consultation, contact our eminent domain landowner attorneys at 1-888-318-3761 or visit us on the web at www.landownerattorneys.com.