Mill Street Reconstruction: South ‘A’ Street to Centennial Boulevard

Project Status:

Final plans and ROW acquisition are in progress. Utility work has begun and will continue through summer 2024. Bid opening is planned for summer 2024. For more updates see the March 2024 update linked below.

March 2024 e-update

Mill Street: Main St. to ‘E’ Street

Mill Street: ‘E’ Street to Centennial Blvd

Project Overview:

Mill Street serves as a collector for residences and some commercial use, and provides access to Centennial Boulevard and Main Street, two key Springfield arterial streets. Over time, the street has reached a state of deterioration beyond the feasibility of maintenance treatments.

In addition to crumbling pavement, Mill Street currently presents challenges to pedestrians and bicyclists. Cyclists currently ride in the roadway and weave in and out of parked cars along the street. Between 2008-2015, nine bicyclist-involved crashes were reported along the project length. All except for one were angle, sideswipe, or turning movements, which are the types of crashes that could be expected to occur without good visibility of people biking and without infrastructure that encourages more predictable riding behavior, such as a bike lane.

Mill Street is also heavily accessed by pedestrians walking to Centennial Boulevard or Pioneer Parkway to use the bus. Reconstructing Mill Street provides an opportunity to enhance the safety and accessibility of curb ramps and pedestrian crossings to allow for continued, safe access of commonly used pedestrian routes to get to and from the nearby bus lines.

Construction is planned for 2024.

Map of Mill Street reconstruction area

Map of Mill Street reconstruction area

Project Goals:

The reconstruction of Mill Street from S ‘A’ Street to Centennial Boulevard aims to achieve the following:

  • Create a new transportation asset that will serve our community for many years by fully reconstructing a major collector in complete disrepair.
  • Improve accessibility for pedestrians and bicyclists by addressing pedestrian crossings, bring curb ramps up to meet ADA standards, and fill in a missing gap in the Springfield bicycle network.
  • Improve street lighting to make the area more walkable at night and increase the safety of all users.
  • Rehabilitate wastewater lines. This is necessary to enable the City to maintain compliance with federal and state requirements to eliminate wastewater overflows.
  • Improve stormwater facilities. Stormwater Management is an important part of the community’s effort to improve water quality, protect fish habitat, and protect properties and infrastructure from flooding. Stormwater flows to storm drains, gutters, ditches, swales, or a system of pipes, eventually ending up in the McKenzie or Willamette rivers. Unlike wastewater from indoor plumbing, stormwater is not treated before being emptied into our waterways.
Join the Email List

Project News:

March 2024

The design for the Mill Street Reconstruction Project is wrapping up and is expected to be completed this spring. The project is expected to go to bid in May, and the contractor will be selected in July. The right of way process is underway, and all impacted property owners have been contacted by ODOT. Negotiations for the temporary construction easements should be completed in April. If you have not been contacted by ODOT that means your property will not be impacted by the project. The utility relocation designs are complete and utility companies will begin required relocation work starting in March. The general timeline is provided in the updates linked below and additional information will be shared as it becomes available.

March 2024 Letter
March 2024 e-update

October 2023

Work is progressing on the Mill Street Reconstruction Project and we look forward to construction which is planned to begin in 2024. If you are a property owner on Mill Street, we’re sending this postcard to inform you that the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) will be sending out more information on temporary construction easements in the coming weeks. A temporary easement provides a temporary right to use the property of another for specific uses and for a specific period of time. The purpose of these easements is to provide space for the contractor to construct new sidewalks and driveway connections as part of the Mill Street Project. All new sidewalks and ADA curb ramps will be constructed within the existing City right of way.

Temporary activities within the easement will likely include but are not limited to foot traffic, construction equipment, concrete formwork, clearing, grubbing, and re-seeding. Construction is planned to begin in the summer of 2024 and will extend through the summer of 2025, however, the actual construction period of use of the easement is not to exceed a period of thirty consecutive days.

October 2023 Mail Update

July 2023

As design work continues in preparation for the Advance Plan design submittal in August, the project is currently on track to meet our 2024 construction goal. Here are some current highlights and updates on the design progression:

  • The design team is coordinating with private utility owners to relocate existing overhead utilities underground. There are SUB power transmission lines on the west side of Mill Street that will remain overhead. The construction of utility relocations is anticipated to begin in early 2024.
  • Design of the wastewater line replacement and relocation into the street to improve long term system resilience, maintenance, and operations.
  • Design of stormwater improvements including water quality vaults with street trees to treat runoff from the roadway before it enters the stormwater system.
  • Raised crosswalks are being introduced to promote pedestrian safety at A St, D St, E St, and Meadow Park. Additionally, speed humps will be constructed in each block to further calm traffic and reduce auto speeds.
  • New bicycle facilities are being designed.
  • New landscaped areas will be implemented throughout the corridor and planted with grass and street trees.
  • New LED street lighting is being designed to increase lighting along the corridor and enhance safety.
  • New concrete pavement, sidewalk and driveway reconstruction, and ADA Compliant curb ramps are being designed through the entire corridor.
  • The right of way process is underway and property owners should start hearing from ODOT in the coming months about temporary construction easements. Most of the impacts to private property will just be temporary to allow for sidewalk and curb ramp reconstruction.
July 2023 Mail Update
July 2023 E-Update

July 2022

Design work continues on the Mill Street Reconstruction Project, and we are writing to share important updates, including results of resident feedback and proposed cross sections.

Historic photo of Mill St Construction

Historic photo of Mill St construction. Photo courtesy of Springfield History Museum.

July 2022 Mail Update
July 2022 E-Update

May 2022

Design work continues on the Mill Street Reconstruction Project and there are important updates we would like to share.

May 2022 Mail Update
May 2022 E-Update

April 2022

As part of the on-going design work for Mill Street, the City will be conducting geotechnical explorations to support the design of a new roadway pavement surface.  Workers will be in the roadway on April 21st, 25th, and 26th to collect surface and subsurface information necessary to develop a new pavement.  During these days, only one lane will be open to traffic in alternating directions for short segments on Mill Street between S. A Street and W Centennial Boulevard.  Flaggers will be onsite to direct traffic.  Drivers should expect minor delays.

February 2022

The Mill Street Reconstruction Project is moving forward. The design phase is now beginning, starting with survey work scheduled to begin on February 28, 2022. For more information, read the February letter to residents.

Read the February Update

To ask questions or provide feedback, please reach out to engineering@springfield-or.gov or 541.726.4584.

Questions or Comments?

To ask questions or provide feedback, please reach out to engineering@springfield-or.gov or 541.726.4584.

Use the link below to be added to the email list to receive notifications of project updates.

Join the Email List