SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – Springfield’s rail consolidation project was the subject of a presentation to the Springfield city council at its last meeting.

Mike Mendenhall of Hanson Professional Services took a question about the North Grand Avenue project. “It’s going to look very, very similar to the other underpasses. It will have a similar coloring scheme. There will be a center pier in the middle. Carpenter Street has that,” said Mendenhall. “The one difference is there is just one bridge there, where like at Carpenter Street and all the other locations there are two bridges, one for the (Union Pacific), one for the (Norfolk Southern). At North Grand is just for the (Union Pacific).”

Mendenhall said moving the Third Street tracks to Tenth Street could be done by the end of 2027.

“That’s going to make that Third Street corridor vacant,” he said. “We’d like to really redevelop that into something that’s going to be a huge benefit to the city. It’s going toa allow connections into the current Wabash Trail and Interurban Trail at the south end, as well as connect into the state fairgrounds”