The Renew Jordan Creek project — which will “daylight” the once-enclosed stream downtown — is nearing the halfway point. The majority of the excavation and walling work in the project area is complete, along with concrete structural work for the new bridge on Campbell. The week of October 27, the stretch of Campbell between Water and Mill streets where that bridge is located is expected to reopen to through traffic — albeit only one lane for the first month or two while contractors finish the bridge’s sidewalk, railing and veneer.
That same week, Boonville will close between Water and Mill. Northbound traffic will be detoured to Campbell via Olive Street, and southbound traffic will be detoured to Jefferson via Phelps. Soft closures will be posted on Campbell and Mill, Phelps and Boonville, Jefferson and Water and Olive and Boonville — these will allow local traffic to access buildings and parking but still block through traffic (detailed maps are provided on the handouts posted here).
The state of construction
With about a year’s worth of work left, the daylighting project is still on schedule. Sean Thouvenout, vice president of Branco Enterprises — the construction management firm handling the project — told reporters on Friday that while a particularly “wet” spring required some rethinking of the schedule, no further delays are expected unless the fall season is also uncharacteristically wet.
This is especially the case because most of the major construction is finished. What’s left is the detail work.
“You can kind of see the channel taking shape, but there is a lot of native planting, plaza spaces, seating areas, railing, veneer — things like that, that will really add the finishing touches to the project,” said Kirkland Preston, Professional Engineer for the project.
Preston said that the most challenging — but also most amazing — aspect of the project going forward will be the installation of a new box culvert to allow water to pass under the railroad crossing on Boonville. In early November, the railroad will be closed for a 96 hour window during which the entire installation will have to be completed. Preparation for that window is one of many reasons for the closing along Boonville.
“My therapist says I can’t talk about that,” said Thouvenout, who bears a significant portion of the responsibility for planning the culvert installation. Thouvenout told reporters that the tight window, during which contractors will work around the clock in four rotating shifts, has already resulted in a number of sleepless nights for himself.
Daylighting?
Renew Jordan Creek — featured in a 2023 Smithsonian Magazine article — aims to “daylight” a portion of the eponymous stream downtown. While the creek was initially boxed in as a flood control measure in the late 20s and early 30s, the move was ultimately misguided. Attempting to divert storm runoff to a limited amount of space underground actually forced that water above ground, and as a result, downtown Springfield has seen intermittent flooding for decades.
Daylighting attempts to solve this problem by, in Preston’s words, “allow[ing] the creek to be a creek,” giving the waterway room to expand during storms and contract when it’s dry. As an added benefit, the daylighted portion will act as a public green space and wildlife habitat.
City officials said that negotiations with Sterling Mathis — owner of the Hotel of Terror, located on one of the proposed project sites — are ongoing but not expected to inhibit the progress on Phase 1 of Renew Jordan Creek.