The City of Springfield Public Works Department received the 2019 Transportation Achievement Award for Safety from the Midwestern District of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (MWITE) for work completed on the Grand Street Bridge Replacement over Jordan Creek Project. The award was presented at the MWITE annual meeting in June.
Identified by citizens as their No. 1 priority in need of improvement in the 2015 city-wide transportation survey, the Grand Street Bridge Replacement Project involved the widening of Grand Street to three lanes from Kansas Expressway to Park Avenue, improving both traffic and pedestrian safety.
The project included the addition of a center turn lane, an improved railroad crossing and the construction of a new bridge over Jordan Creek. The area, widely used by pedestrians, also gained a new sidewalk on the south side of Grand Street and a multi-use path on the north side that ties into the existing Ozark Greenways trail system. Upgraded stormwater infrastructure and stream restoration help to increase the functionality of the creek.
MWITE considers projects across an 11-state area with projects scored based on four criteria: application of innovative ideas, commitment to the advancement of the transportation engineering profession, strong applicability to the industry, and well-balanced scope and format.
“The new Grand Street bridge has increased the safety of our Westside neighbors,” says Westside Neighborhood Alliance President Joe Roberds. “Many people walk, or ride bicycles or wheelchairs to the businesses east of the bridge. The new sidewalk approach, railroad crossing and the wider bridge makes pedestrian travel much safer. We feel pride that such a great project has been completed in our neighborhood.”
The improvement project was completed in March at a cost of $2.9 million. It was funded through the voter-approved 1/8-cent Transportation Sales Tax.