Stormwater improvements to reduce flooding and improve water quality surrounding the Springfield Art Museum have reached the halfway to completion point.
Contractor Hartman and Company has made progress since breaking ground in March, completing sanitary sewer main relocations along Brookside Drive and conducting excavation and grading from east to west along Fassnight Creek between Kings Avenue and Greene Avenue. Hartman has also installed bridge piers for two pedestrian bridges located on the east and west sides of the project and landscape crews have installed turf reinforcement and erosion control materials to aid in the establishment of native seeds.
“Work progress was extremely fragmented in early summer as we experienced regular rainfall. Industry-wide materials and vendor delays have also had an impact on the timeline,” explains project manager Kirkland Preston. “Despite these factors, Hartman has made progress and expects to be largely completed by winter with items like landscaping and finishing work that may get pushed back to spring, when weather will be more favorable.”
Still to come are roadway alignment modifications to Brookside Drive, decorative stone and landscaping involving more than 200 native Missouri plants.
“As the general shape of the channel and pools have started to take shape, one promising sign is that a couple of mallard ducks and other wildlife have moved in, despite the noise and activity of ongoing construction,” reports Preston. “This return to nature is what we’re aiming for with the project and it’s cool to see.”
To sign up to receive regular project updates, visit the “Notify Me” tab at springfieldmo.gov and select “Fassnight Stormwater / Springfield Art Museum Masterplan Updates.” For more information on the project, visit springfieldmo.gov/samstormwater.