The West Wye project in northwest Springfield is becoming a reality a decade after a study identified a need for the new connection track.
Last night, Springfield City Council unanimously voted to approve a bill transferring 2.6 acres at Nichols Junction to BNSF Railway Co. in exchange for the wye, a triangle of railroad used as a turnaround point for trains.
The
project is designed to cut travel times of coal trains en route to City Utilities’ John Twitty Energy Center in southwest Springfield and to keep trains from entering the heart of the city, which can back up traffic and pose a safety hazard.
Currently, coal trains must travel to the main rail yard near West Division Street and Kansas Expressway to be redirected to the power plant.
Sarah Kerner, Springfield’s interim economic development director, said nearly 60 times a day trains move past where the wye would be located north of Chestnut Expressway and east of Interstate 44. While much of that traffic isn’t headed for the power plant, she said the West Wye project should reduce activity by about 30 percent.
“It will vary based on seasonal demand and customer needs,” Kerner said.
According to the bill, key goals of the project include freeing up space in the main yard for storage currently located in the West Meadows and enabling the future removal of track from within the western portion of the West Meadows area.
In exchange for the property, BNSF would give the city an estimated $752,000 credit toward future land purchases or construction work from the rail company. The credit would be roughly equal to the city’s expenditures for the purchase of the property and the wye’s construction. Last year, the city entered into a construction agreement with BNSF to install the track and signage, according to
SpringfieldMo.gov.
Federal funds of $2.4 million are covering the bulk of the project, with the state chipping in $150,000.
Kerner said BNSF expects to begin laying track for the line April 18 and wrap up in two weeks.
Mayor Bob Stephens said the last piece of the wye puzzle was a long time coming.
“We’ve been talking about the West Wye since I got elected in 2009, and it is very nice to see it getting to the end days of the project,” Stephens said.
In 2006, the city commissioned the Railroad Reconfiguration and Grade Separation Study to determine how best to increase the available space in the West Meadows area west of downtown and provide an alternate route for coal delivery, according to the bill.
