SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) - The goal of Springfield's Rail Improvement Project, is to shift the railroad tracks from Third street to a new corridor on Tenth street.

Project Manager with Hanson Professional Services, Jim Moll, says there are 68 railroad crossings in the city.

"It become obvious rail traffic was going to increase in the city of Springfield," Moll says.

According to Moll, the project is aimed at improving safety, removing congestion and eliminating noise throughout the city.

"Each one of those is a dangerous location, a place where you can get hit by a train," Moll says. "In addition to that, it causes traffic congestion. Plus, at each one of those crossings, the train has to blow its horn."

Moll says, in the future, all of the busy streets will have underpasses or overpasses where people can cross the tracks without having to worry.

"We have completed construction on the underpass on Carpenter Street. We just completed the new underpass at Ash Street. We're currently working on a new one on Laurel Street," Moll says. "We're also in construction of replacing the bridges over fifth and sixth. Then, we will move up and replace bridges over the existing underpasses on South Grand and Cook Street. Then we will build a new underpass at North Grand."

Alaa Alkash, helps run his father's business off Laurel Street. He says all this construction has had some negative impacts on the business. 

"It's affected us a lot, cause not as many customers come in as usual," Alkash says. "We used to have the road open."

According to Alkash, although they have lost customers, when the construction is completed, they hope to gain new ones.

"This road is straight to the highway, and I feel like a lot people will come in and not be stopped by the trains and stuff," Alkash says.

The project is to be completed by 2025, and Moll says it is right on track.

"The project is on schedule and under budget, and we hope to keep it that way," Moll says.