Title
167th Street Multi-Use Path, Steeplechase Parkway to 104th Street, Metra Agreement for Pedestrian Gates Railroad Crossing Improvements
History
On May 19, 2025, the Board approved the Metra Agreement provided in Staff Report #2025-0397. In the staff report, staff used design and construction cost of $803,653.00 provided by Metra. However, later on Metra provided a revised cost estimate of $812,724.79 ($9,071.79 higher than the original costs) plus $2,500.00 for Contract Preparation/Easement Recordation fees for a total of $815,224.79. The purpose of this revised staff report is to replace the previous approval of $803,653.00 with $815,224.79.
The Engineering Department is actively working on the Phase II Design Engineering of the 167th Street Multi-Use Path. The construction of this path is scheduled for late 2027. One of the major improvements of this multi-use path is the design and construction of the pedestrian gates railroad crossing located southeast of the intersection of 167th Street and Pear Avenue. Metra requires the municipalities to cover the costs for Metra's design, engineering, construction, document review times, and contract preparation/easement recordation fees. For the 167th Street Multi-Use Path project, Metra will be providing the following professional design services and construction of actual crossing including gates, lights, bells and other related items:
- Grade Crossing Approaches
- Granting Access Easement to the Village of Orland Park
- Grade Crossing Surface Design
- Engineering Design and Construction
- Installation of Gates, Lights and Bells to Protect New Path Crossing
- Cost Estimates
- Contract Preparation
For this agreement, Metra has estimated and provided costs for the above services at $815,224.79. Refer to the attached agreement prepared and provided by Metra. This agreement has been reviewed and approved by the Village Attorney. Metra is requesting that this agreement be executed by the Village before they will proceed with their design, engineering and construction services.
Financial Impact
The financial impact of this railroad crossing on the 167th Multi-Use Path project is estimated at $815,224.79. As mentioned above, staff recently learned about this requirement and, therefore, it was not included in the Capital Improvement Project budget for 2025. Metra requires that $2,500.00 in Contract Preparation/Easement Recordation fees be paid upfront. Therefore, $812,724.79 ($815,224.79 - $2,500.00 = $812,724.79) request will be included in the next year’s CIP budget, which will be used to pay for Metra's services. Please note that the Engineering Department has secured $200,000.00 in grant funding for Phase II Design Engineering and $3,114,589.00 for Phase III Construction and Construction Observation Services, which total $3,314,589.00 secured from grants for the project. Staff is working towards securing additional funds for this project.
Recommended Action/Motion
I move to approve and authorize the execution of the attached Metra Agreement for the total not-to-exceed amount of $815,224.79 for the work outlined in Metra's agreement;
AND
Authorize the Village Manager to execute all related agreements, subject to Village Attorney review.