Springfield to receive $15 million to improve street safety

WAMC Northeast Public Radio | By Paul Tuthill

Published February 6, 2023 at 3:27 PM EST

Barrels are being used to narrow State Street to one lane in both directions as traffic approaches the Central Library. This is being used to observe the impact of making permanent safety improvements to the area where pedestrians have been killed while attempting to cross the street in the middle of the block.

Upgrades planned at 15 intersections, 10 high-traffic streets

The city of Springfield, Massachusetts is receiving $15 million from the Federal Highway Administration to improve street safety throughout the city.

Following a rash of fatal car crashes and pedestrian deaths in 2021, the city identified 15 intersections and 10 high-traffic streets where upgrades are needed.

The money comes from a new discretionary grant program funded with $5 billion over five years in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

WAMC’s Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill spoke with Springfield DPW Director Chris Cignoli.

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Paul Tuthill

The record-setting tenure of Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno. The 2011 tornado and its recovery that remade the largest city in Western Massachusetts. The fallout from the deadly COVID outbreak at the Holyoke Soldiers Home. Those are just a few of the thousands and thousands of stories WAMC’s Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill has covered for WAMC in his nearly 17 years with the station.

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