It might be five years before it’s done, but leaders in Springfield, Massachusetts are breaking ground now on the X intersection construction project – a major overhaul of one of the state’s major crash sites .

Prep work is already underway on Sumner Avenue and other parts of the intersection – a longtime source of traffic, accidents and backups in the city’s Forest Park neighborhood.

But while the project won’t be fully-finished for half-a-decade, Wednesday was as good as any day to mark its start with a groundbreaking.

As many as 30,000 vehicles drive through the area each day, says DPW Director Chris Cignoli. Then there’s the heavy foot traffic – the area’s thickly-settled, with schools, churches and businesses either along the intersection or nearby.

It’s also a spot lacking bike lanes and pedestrian crosswalks that meet modern standards. Cignoli's gone as far as to call the corridor “antiquated” and a prime spot for crashes – especially sideswipes.

It’s why MassDOT and the city are taking on a $27.5 million effort to reshape the intersection – planning for which dates back to at least 2013.

“I’ve said that this is a giant, giant safety project - it's a roadway improvement project, but you know, everything we're now is really focused on increased safety,” the DPW director told WAMC during the groundbreaking outside Forest Park. “So, the safety is just going to be the big thing that we're going to be really looking forward to being improved around here.”

Much of the funding comes by way of the Federal Highway Administration, though the city and the Springfield Water & Sewer Commission are also contributing. Traffic details and the like are expected to cost at least $1.4 million.

If you’ve never had the pleasure of driving through the X, it’s a hodgepodge of at least three different roadways meeting up, with side streets connecting some of them, a host of turn restrictions and traffic signals not every driver waits behind.

It’s also where Sumner’s multiple traffic lanes meet up with Dickinson’s single lanes and Belmont awkwardly breaks up, resuming after you sit through several traffic lights.

Giving it all a major overhaul is expected to take years, Mayor Domenic Sarno says, but it’s much-needed as demand increases.

“ I wish… that I could snap my fingers and get this done in five minutes - it's going to be a few years to get it done, but … [there’s] going to be much better traffic flow, pedestrian flow - it's going to enhance the business district area…” the mayor said.

According to MassDOT, the work will take at least six construction seasons and will feature road widenings, re-paving work, new sidewalks, curbing and more.

A public info session this month also revealed 13 new bus shelters will also be added as well as five-foot, on-street painted bike lanes on parts of Sumner and Belmont Avenues, in addition to various sidewalks becoming shared-use paths.

For City Councilor Victor Davila, whose Ward 6 includes the X, anything boosting pedestrian safety is a must, he says.

“Pedestrian danger is real - try crossing the street, try crossing some of the avenue, you’re taking your life into your own hands,” he said. “We have incidents … car accidents here - it's a problem. It's a real problem.”

At least four new crosswalks, two pedestrian plazas and existing crosswalks being enhanced with better signals and high-visibility striping are some of the most important features going in.

Cignoli says other changes to improve traffic flow include ditching a left turn restriction on Dickinson Street northbound, nearby Ormond Street becoming one-way road and at least a dozen other tweaks to improve traffic.

MassDOT’s website outlines the work in yearly phases, going out into 2030. Officials note while work on water lines, conduits and other facets will make up much of the next two years, road excavation work could start as soon as late-2026.