The reconstruction of Springfield, Mass.'s "X" intersection has begun after a decade of planning. The $22.7 million project will include new lanes, signals, bike lanes, sidewalks and lighting. Despite initial obstacles, city officials aim to improve safety in a high-traffic area.
City of Springfield photo
Fixing the X has been on the minds of Mayor Domenic Sarno (Podium) and other city officials for more than a decade.
The much-anticipated official reconstruction of Springfield, Mass.'s "X" intersection has finally gotten under way with a ground-breaking ceremony, local TV station WWLP reported.
One of Springfield's largest roadway projects in the city's recent history is now expected to make headway throughout the rest of 2025.
Fixing the X has been on the minds of Mayor Domenic Sarno and other city officials for more than a decade, and on May 21, 2025, they joined state leaders, including those from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT), for the project's ceremonial start.
Prior to the official kickoff to the work, crews with Baltazar Contracting in Ludlow, Mass., were in the area doing preparation work and cutting down trees.
The $22.7 million road reconstruction encompasses Sumner Avenue at Dickinson Street and Belmont Avenue, and will include the addition of transition lanes, new traffic signals and updated signal coordination.
Reminder Publishing, a news source that covers much of Western Massachusetts, noted that the project also will:
- create 5-ft.-wide bicycle lanes;
- expand and reconstruct sidewalks to become shared-use paths;
- make pedestrian facility and accessibility upgrades;
- improve bus stops and shelters; and
- replace and install new street lighting, furnishings and landscaping.
According to the MassDOT website, the project begins at Springfield's Sumner Avenue intersection with Churchill Street and continues 3,400 ft. east to the intersection with Daytona Street. The Belmont Avenue project limits start just northwest of its intersection with Burlington Street and continue 1,650 ft. south to the intersection with Ormond Street.
When the Dickinson Street segment gets under way at its intersection with Burlington Street, crews will work south from there for 1,050 ft. to the intersection with Cliftwood Street, according to MassDOT.
Aside from those roadways, the project also is due to affect Lenox and Oakland streets and Commonwealth Avenue.
Crews Have Been Busy Doing Prep Work on X Since March
Springfield planners began developing the project back in 2017 before the city's public works personnel were finally able to start adding advanced traffic signage, surveying and removing trees in March 2025.
Chris Cignoli, director of the city's Department of Public Works, told a public gathering with the Forest Park Civic Association two months ago that residents should expect to see some utility work happening during the remainder of 2025.
MassDOT's timeline tentatively expects utility work to occur over the next few years and for roadway construction to officially begin sometime in the summer of 2028.
When complete, the Reminder noted, the road upgrades will fix what city officials have described as an antiquated section of Springfield where tattered pavement, a lack of bike lanes and dangerous pedestrian crossings are exacerbated by more vehicles on the road, as well as an increase in accidents and speeding drivers.
"By far, this is probably the largest roadway project we've done in the city since we did [the] State Street [Corridor Project]," Cignoli said. "We're doing this [project] to get speeds down, and we're doing it to make it safer.
"The other thing this project is going to do is get rid of a lot of cut-through traffic," he said.
In 2024, the Springfield City Council approved four partial land takings by eminent domain, plus permanent easements at five locations and an additional 128 temporary easements where a new sidewalk is slated to be installed.
Despite the approval of these easements and land takings, which occurred at a Springfield City Council meeting last fall, Reminder Publishing reported that council members expressed outrage for finding out in the 11th hour that they would need to vote on land taking and easements during that session or risk losing the state-funded project.
Still, the council understood the need for upgrades to the X and approved the easements despite their objections.
"This is not a want; this is a need," said Springfield City Councilor Victor Davila, whose ward includes the X. "It's a dangerous intersection."
Springfield City Forester Alex Sherman said that the initial project revealed the need to remove approximately 130 of the 163 trees in the project area; however, after some pushback from residents in the neighborhood, the most recent plan has the city losing only 58 trees, according to the Reminder.
Sherman said a number of those trees are in poor health condition and have showed signs of infestation. When the road project is finally finished, his department plans to replant 118 new trees.
"I think overall, it was great that the neighborhood came out and made their voice known about the original plan and the loss of those trees and I think this project reflects that sentiment," he said. "We've been able to improve the project."
Sherman added that his department will walk through the work area with the prime contractor to make sure the trees staying during construction are protected "so that they remain healthy and viable once the project is complete."
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