As construction along Primrose Street near Kickapoo High School continues into the fall, City of Springfield Public Works says the project’s conclusion is in sight and thanks the community for their cooperation.
“By the end of October, the project will be nearing the end with all pavement completed,” explains project manager Andrew Flippin. “We planned for a six-month project with a target wrap-up date in November. Thanks to the contractor and the school system, we’ve stuck to the schedule.”
A complicated project from the start, Public Works continually coordinated with contractor Hartman & Company and Springfield Public Schools to make adjustments to the work zone to keep the area safe and ease potential traffic backups onto other roadways.
The project involves the widening of Primrose Street to five lanes between South Avenue and Kimbrough Avenue, including the construction of bike lanes on both sides of the roadway and Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant sidewalks. New traffic signals have been added at the intersection of Jefferson Avenue and Primrose as well as new City Utilities gas and water facilities and the installation of a sewer main to provide service to Kickapoo High School’s athletic facilities.
“Even without the construction, this area can be pretty chaotic during school opening and release times,” Flippin said. “Our ultimate goal is to relieve traffic congestion along Primrose with the completion of this project.”
Throughout construction, two-way traffic along Primrose Street has been maintained but the roadway continues to be reduced to two lanes in certain sections with no center turn lane. Various nighttime and weekend closures of Primrose are still expected as the project wraps up. Any further traffic impacts will be announced with as much notice as possible.
Students and faculty are advised to continue to access school parking lots on Primrose from the east or on Jefferson from the north. Slow down, use caution and try to avoid making left turns within the work zone.
“We know the construction schedule for this project has not been ideal and we apologize for the inconvenience,” says Public Works project manager Andrew Flippin. “On behalf of Public Works, I want to thank the Kickapoo principal and school administration who worked with us on this project. Thanks, also, to the students, parents and teachers for their patience and flexibility. We’re very excited to have the final piece to the Primrose corridor completed. We hope the public will be pleased with the improvements.”