Title
Supplement for Design Engineering McDonough Associates - Southwest Highway Realignment Feasibility Study
History
Over the past several years, McDonough Associates Inc. of Chicago, Illinois, has been performing Phase I Engineering for the 143rd Street corridor, generally from LaGrange Road west to Will Cook Road. 143rd Street is an IDOT road with the Village having been permitted to advance engineering.
The Project was split into two smaller projects: LaGrange to Wolf Road and Wolf Road to Will Cook Road. The scope of their work for both projects is to develop a Phase I report and preliminary plans, etc., for the proposed reconstruction and expansion of the corridor from two (2) lanes to four (4) lanes with a shared median turn lane or raised median, depending upon location. The Wolf Road to Will Cook project has had the Phase I work completed and a Phase I report has been submitted to IDOT.
The LaGrange to Wolf project was suspended for a number of years due to the uncertainty of construction options. Right-of-way acquisition issues arose during Phase I development regarding the roadway’s proposed relocated proximity to residential properties within this section, and the potential need to obtain right-of way from the Cook County Forest Preserve District (FPDCC). With recent FPDCC discussions, work on this project has resumed in a limited fashion as there appears to be an opportunity to secure the needed right-of-way from the FPDCC.
Since the Phase I work was initiated, a privately owned structure at the intersection of 143rd and Union/Southwest Highway was razed leaving a currently vacant parcel. This parcel does have a current planned use but no construction activity has commenced to date.
With this parcel being vacant, a unique opportunity was discussed among Staff to realign Southwest Highway with Union Ave north of 143rd Street. At the request of a Board Trustee, McDonough was requested by Staff to examine the feasibility of realigning Southwest Highway at 143rd Street. The desire of realignment is to eliminate the current 5-legged intersection at 143rd Street and Union (4-legs) and Southwest Highway (1 leg). Eliminating this extra leg will also eliminate the current “skewed” intersection movement, and will greatly improve intersection performance and traffic throughput due to eliminating one full cycle in a complicated 5-way traffic control signal.
Over the past month at no charge, McDonough prepared a 2-D exhibit showing that realignment appears to be geometrically possible without impacting nearby FPDCC land to the north and west. A copy of this exhibit is included with this Item.
This exhibit was presented to the Village Manager and direction was provided to request a Scope and Fee proposal to develop a more comprehensive set of feasibility plans taking into account elevations, utilities, etc., in order to develop a preliminary Engineer’s Estimate for a possible realignment project. It is very important that this effort be undertaken at this time as the Phase I report has not yet been finalized or sent to IDOT for this section of 143rd Street, and the parcel needed for the possible realignment remains undeveloped.
During the time that the 2-D exhibit was being prepared, discussions were held with IDOT regarding this realignment effort specifically related to cost sharing and the disposition of the land upon which the current Southwest Highway is built. If this realignment is feasible and agreed to, IDOT would, at the end of realignment construction, vacate the current right-of-way enabling the Village to assemble the remaining portion of the “vacant parcel” and the “old ROW” into one parcel with good frontage on both 143rd Street and the realigned Southwest Highway. Cost sharing will be determined once further investigation has been completed, but IDOT generally prefers traditional 4-legged intersections and looks favorably at opportunities to improve intersection performance and reduce complexity.
Once the enhanced feasibility work is completed, should the Village desire that this effort be continued, the final plan preparation work-effort will be examined to determine if it is appropriate to roll this into the Phase I report being prepared for this segment of the project, or if it is best to split this segment into two smaller projects for presentation to IDOT. In either scenario, by adding this realignment to the Phase I report, it presents this work as an integral component of the overall project making cost sharing more a certainty.
Staff has reviewed the proposal from McDonough Associates for Pre-Phase I engineering and finds the proposed fee of $9,938.40 appropriate for the effort to be undertaken.
PLEASE SAVE ATTACHMENTS. THE INFORMATION ATTACHED WILL NOT BE DUPLICATED FOR THE DECEMBER 20, 2010, BOARD MEETING.
A NEW COVER SHEET WILL BE PROVIDED WITH THE APPROPRIATE BOARD MOTION.
Financial Impact
A budget adjustment in the amount of $9,938.40 fund 054.
Recommended Action/Motion
I move to recommend to the Village Board to approve a budget adjustment in the amount of $9,938.40 to fund 054.
And
Approve authorizing the Village Manager to execute a contract with McDonough Associates Inc. of Chicago, Illinois, for Pre-Phase I Engineering services to develop realignment alternatives for the intersection of 143rd Street and Southwest Highway in an amount not to exceed $9,938.40.