WEST SPRINGFIELD — On Monday, U.S. Rep. Richard Neal joined Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) Rail & Transit Administrator Meredith Slesinger, West Springfield Mayor William Reichelt, Agawam Mayor Christopher Johnson, and state and local officials to announce funding for the construction of a flyover across the Front Street rail crossing and a new roadway configuration that will connect Bridge and Second streets in West Springfield.
A point of intersection between the towns of Agawam and West Springfield, the Front Street rail crossing serves as just one of three connecting roads between the two municipalities, with nearly 8,000 vehicles traveling through the rail crossing every day. As a route that connects two prominent commercial areas in both towns, including Main and North streets in Agawam and Route 20 in West Springfield, freight operations along this crossing have continuously disrupted the ability of residents to travel between the two towns.
This disruption has also impeded the ability of emergency vehicles that rely on this route to provide critical care to local residents, forcing them to seek alternative routes when the crossing is blocked by a parked train and delaying their response time.
A partnership between MassDOT, CSX Transportation, and the municipalities of West Springfield and Agawam, this $20+ million project will be funded with support from the federal government, including funding from the Railway-Highway Crossings (Section 130) Program. This program was supplemented by $245 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for FY22 through FY26. This project will also receive funding from state and local sources, along with a $2 million funding commitment from CSX.
“This crossing has posed a number of challenges to the communities of Agawam and West Springfield for several years,” Neal said. “After advocating with MassDOT and state and local officials, we have delivered a project that will provide the long-term solution residents have advocated for while advancing the Commonwealth’s larger goal of making west-east rail a reality.”
This project proposes to eliminate two highway-rail grade crossings by converting to a railroad under grade separation through the construction of an overpass along a new roadway alignment.
This project is located just over one mile west of the West Springfield CSX Transportation Intermodal Terminal along the Boston & Albany railroad corridor. The proximity to the Intermodal Terminal results in inefficiencies to railyard operations and can lead to both crossings being blocked for extended periods of time, sometimes multiple times a day, impacting vehicles, pedestrians, and cyclists as trains arriving at the facility are switched and sorted.
“After many years of conversation about accessibility over the tracks, I am looking forward to the opportunity to provide our communities with an innovative option,” Reichelt said.
Added Johnson, “it is exciting to hear that, with the assistance of Congressman Neal, progress has been made on the critical transportation problem caused by the closure of Front Street during times when trains are parked on the tracks. This closure of a key route between Agawam and West Springfield presents a significant challenge to public safety, especially in mutual-aid scenarios involving police, fire, and emergency medical services. It also affects local residents and businesses due to the unpredictable nature of the times and dates when trains cause the road closure. This is especially true during the Big E when the other routes between Agawam and West Springfield are extremely congested with fairgoers.”
