West Springfield Wins $30 Million to Replace Front Street Rail Crossings With an Overpass

Photo: Locomotives at CSX’s West Springfield Yard near the crossings, August 2025 (file photo). 4300streetcar, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.

Drivers in West Springfield, Mass., and neighboring Agawam who have waited for freight trains at the Front Street rail crossing are a step closer to an overpass. The Healey administration announced on Oct. 30, 2026, that Massachusetts won about $30 million in federal money to replace the Front Street and First Street grade crossings near the CSX Intermodal Terminal with a new roadway that passes over the tracks.

The award comes from the Federal Railroad Administration’s Railroad Crossing Elimination Grant Program, according to Six State Signal, which reviewed the state announcement. The state described a $30 million grant, while U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, whose district includes the Springfield area, was quoted putting the figure at $30.3 million. CSX is contributing $2 million, according to MassDOT.

Why the Front Street crossing backs up

The two crossings sit just over a mile west of the CSX terminal on the Boston & Albany rail corridor. According to the MassDOT project page, trains arriving at the terminal are switched and sorted there, which can leave both crossings blocked for long stretches, sometimes several times a day. That affects drivers, pedestrians and cyclists alike.

Front Street is one of only three roads linking West Springfield and Agawam, and nearly 8,000 vehicles use the crossing each day, according to a July 2024 release from Neal’s office. The route connects Main and North streets in Agawam with Route 20 in West Springfield. The same release said emergency vehicles have had to detour when a parked train blocks the crossing, delaying response times.

Agawam Mayor Christopher Johnson said in that 2024 release that the problem is worst “during the Big E when the other routes between Agawam and West Springfield are extremely congested with fairgoers.” West Springfield Mayor William Reichelt said then that he was “looking forward to the opportunity to provide our communities with an innovative option.”

What the overpass would look like

MassDOT describes the plan as a “railroad-under grade separation”: both at-grade crossings would close and a new road alignment would carry traffic over the tracks. The 2024 announcement described the route as a flyover connecting Bridge and Second streets in West Springfield.

MassLive has reported that MassDOT presented three design concepts at a public forum in June and in September recommended Concept B, the least expensive of the three, as summarized by Hoodline. Those reports describe 11-foot travel lanes, 5-foot bike lanes and 6-foot sidewalks on both sides, with 22 feet of clearance so double-stacked freight cars can pass underneath.

By the numbers

The cost figures have moved over time. Neal’s office described a “$20+ million project” in 2024, and MassDOT’s project database still lists an estimated total contract cost of about $19.97 million and says the project is in preliminary design. MassLive reported in September that the state had applied for a $38 million federal grant. The new award by itself is about 1.5 times the database’s construction estimate, a TBR calculation, which suggests the estimate will be revised as design advances. MassDOT has not published an updated total.

Timeline and next steps

MassDOT said design would start in fall 2024, with 25% design and environmental review expected to take about two years. Neal’s 2024 release said construction was expected to begin in 2027. Later MassLive reporting, cited by Hoodline, said construction could start in 2029 or 2030 if design and bidding go smoothly, and that another round of public comment is planned with the 25% design by spring 2027. The state’s Oct. 30 announcement did not give a construction start or finish date, according to Six State Signal.

State officials have tied the project to Compass Rail, the state’s passenger-rail program, and to planned West-East passenger service linking Boston, Springfield and Albany. Separating road and rail traffic at the crossings is meant to let freight move in and out of the CSX terminal without blocking local streets, according to MassDOT.

Residents can follow the project and send comments through the MassDOT project page. For more on costs across the region, see our guide to the cheapest places to live in Massachusetts, and our report on Baystate Health completing its Mercy Medical Center takeover in Springfield.

Sources

• Mass.gov: Front and First Street grade crossing elimination project
• MassDOT Highway project record 613945
• Office of Rep. Richard Neal: Neal Celebrates Funding for Flyover at West Springfield Rail Crossing (July 29, 2024)
• Six State Signal: West Springfield rail crossings win $30 million for replacement overpass

Additional sources

• Western Mass News: Funding secured for railroad overpass project
• Hoodline: West Springfield Rail Flyover Secures $30M in Federal Funds