Renew Jordan Creek work set to commence in fall with lengthy road closures

Renew Jordan Creek, the city of Springfield’s project to restore the buried Jordan Creek to the surface and develop pedestrian and park features alongside it, is slated to begin in late fall, pending City Council approval of a loan. 

The work that is planned will cause traffic disruptions, including a yearlong closure of Campbell Avenue starting in late fall of this year and, after Campbell reopens, a yearlong closure of Boonville Avenue starting in fall 2025. Both closures would be for the sections of each avenue between Water and Mill streets. 

The $32.5 million project would be funded, in part, through a $6 million loan administered by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. The loan approval is slated to go before council in November as a last step before the project commences. 

At an update meeting for business owners yesterday, city officials outlined the timeline for the project, highlighting planned street closures and offering one-on-one meetings with business representatives who have questions or concerns. 

Initial plans were outlined during the meeting, though city spokesperson Kristen Milam said they may need to be modified as construction progresses and traffic patterns are monitored. 

“We’re going to be watching how traffic flows around here; we’re going to be monitoring what areas people are avoiding – what can we change to make sure we’re addressing the concerns of downtown,” she said. 

The city is committed to keeping businesses, residents and other downtown stakeholders informed through regular project updates, which they can sign up for at the project website, RenewJordanCreek.com. City officials say business owners will be given as much notice as possible of road closures so that they can plan ahead and so that the city can help them communicate any routing changes with customers. 

“There’s been a lot of work over the last couple of years downtown that we’ve needed to really focus in on communication, and we’ve heard a lot of input and learned a lot of lessons over the last couple of years,” Milam said in an interview after the meeting. “With this scale of a project, it’s definitely very important.” 

Asked if accommodating businesses by coordinating closures would raise the project costs, Milan said it did bring the project duration to an estimated two years but does not increase the budget. 

“We may have been able to shorten that a little bit if we would have allowed the contractors to close both streets at the same time, but that was absolutely non-negotiable,” she said. “We need to have the traffic flow around the downtown and have the access, because it’s not just a project site.” 

The project aims to reduce flood damage to property and infrastructure from recurrent flooding while providing public amenities and opportunities for enhanced economic development, according to the project website. 

The project timeline is as follows: 

Phase 1, late fall 2024: Water Street closure, Campbell to Boonville Avenue and Boonville to Jefferson Avenue, 3-month duration. The west portion of Water Street, located between Campbell and Boonville, will close to the public permanently, first as a supply and equipment staging area and then as a pedestrian boulevard.  

Additionally, the east portion will close for three months for gas and water utility renewals. A section of Patton Alley south of Water Street also will close briefly during this time.  

A soft closure will be placed on Water Street at Jefferson Avenue, with the route closed to through traffic but open for local traffic to circulate in and out as needed. 

Boonville Avenue is expected to remain open except for periodic multiday closures and some overnight closures. 

Sidewalks may be closed to pedestrians. 

During this phase, east/west through traffic should use Olive Street or Patton Alley. 

Phase 2, late fall 2024 to fall 2025: Campbell Avenue closure, Water Street to Mill Street, 12-month duration. A few weeks after Phase 1 begins, Campbell will close to traffic for approximately one year between Water and Mill streets. 

Work will include the demolition of the existing Campbell Avenue bridge and removal of a box culvert in the project area. A replacement culvert bridge will be constructed, and there will be temporary elements constructed for diversion of the flow of Jordan Creek during the project. 

While Campbell Avenue will close completely to northbound through traffic, soft closure signage at College Street and Olive Street will allow access to the Yellow Bonnet building/YMCA parking lot. 

Sidewalks will be closed with pedestrian access restricted on the route. 

Phase 3, fall 2025 to fall 2026: Boonville Avenue closure, Water Street to Mill Street, 12-month duration. As work on Campbell Street concludes, the traffic closure will shift from Campbell to Boonville Avenue. 

This phase will begin with the demolition of a Missouri State University parking lot at Boonville Avenue with installation of a new box culvert, sanitary sewer system extension and creek diversion. 

Soft closure signs will allow traffic to access buildings and parking lots while providing warnings of closure to through traffic. 

Northbound traffic on Boonville will be detoured around the work site via Olive Street to Campbell, and southbound traffic will be detoured via Phelps Street to Jefferson. 

Sidewalks along Boonville between Water and Mill and on Water between Campbell and Boonville will be closed to pedestrians. 

Phase 4, fall 2025 to early 2026: Boonville Avenue closure, BNSF Railroad crossing intersection at Boonville Avenue and Mill Street, duration to be determined. Portions of Mill Street will be closed at Boonville for the relocation of existing railroad signals and infrastructure. Ideally, the intersection of Boonville Avenue and Water Street will be open at this time, officials say. Boonville will remain closed from Water to Mill. 

Sidewalks along Boonville between Water and Mill and along Water between Campbell and Boonville will be closed and pedestrian access restricted. 

Phase 5, summer 2026 to late 2026: Northeast portion of project, including Phelps Street and MSU Efactory parking lot 47, 9-month duration. Near the end of the project, following the reopening of Boonville Avenue to traffic, activity will shift to the northeast for the construction of a new box culvert at the MSU parking lot on the east side of Boonville. Alternate parking for the Efactory will be provided at 404 E. Jefferson Ave. and at a Tampa Street university lot. 

Various closures will be necessary surrounding the intersection of Phelps and Robberson. 

The work described – part of a Jordan Valley concept plan crafted in the early 2000s – is slated for completion in 2026, Milam said. That plan was to connect East Meadows, Jordan Valley Park and Hammons Field to West Meadows, with additional green space in between. 

Future additions to the project are anticipated, including a re-envisioning of Founders Park. At present, the city has not secured funding for future phases, Milam said. 

“That is something that we’re going to be looking into in the future,” she said.