Brookfield has approved a construction contractor and leased more land from the BNSF Railway Company in preparation for improvements to the area north of the Congress Park Metra Station.
At its Aug. 26 meeting, the village board approved three measures related to the project, which will see a redo of the area connecting Southview Avenue to the north side of the tunnel under the train station to improve pedestrian safety and beautify the area. Trustees approved the measures as part of the omnibus agenda, so they did not consider or discuss them individually.
The first measure trustees approved is a contract with Nardulli Construction Company, Inc., a Chicago-based firm, for construction services on the project. Nardulli’s bid came in at $313,679.75, beating three other companies that submitted bids as well as the engineer’s original cost estimate of $351,200. While the contract does not give a date for when construction will begin, Nardulli will have 45 days to “substantially complete” the work once it starts, unless Brookfield extends that deadline.
The second measure is a contract with Hancock Engineering, Brookfield’s regular engineering firm, for construction engineering services on the project, a role Hancock has played in past village projects. This second contract is worth $24,600, bringing the project cost to $338,279.75. Last year, Brookfield estimated the project would cost the village $417,690 in total.
The third measure is an amendment to Brookfield’s agreement with BNSF that will allow the village to expand the land it leases from the railway company to include the strip that pedestrians use to access the Congress Park tunnel from Southview Avenue. By leasing the land, Brookfield becomes responsible for improving and maintaining it.
BNSF owns all three train stations in Brookfield and leases them back to the village for a nominal annual fee — in the case of Congress Park, $1 each year. Brookfield last expanded its lease near the station in 2020, when it took on responsibility for the stretch south of the tunnel up to Burlington Avenue. The Congress Park lease is set to expire on Sept. 30, 2039.
According to agenda documents from the meeting, Brookfield has leased land that connects Southview Avenue to the tunnel “for many decades,” but the lease contract outlines the entire stretch as Brookfield’s expanded new property. It is not immediately clear which parts of the land Brookfield had already been renting from BNSF.
In July 2023, Cook County awarded Brookfield $208,845 toward the improvement project as part of the County Department of Transportation’s Invest in Cook program, which aims to help municipalities improve transportation by providing project funding. The village approved a final intergovernmental agreement with Cook County for the improvements in October 2023. The grant means Brookfield will only need to pay $129,434.75 toward the contracts it approved Monday.
The improvements that Brookfield aims to bring to the area, according to agenda documents, include new landscaping with native plants, widening the pedestrian and bike path to 7 feet, adding concrete drive aisles for trucks and putting in new fencing, pedestrian-scale lighting, and street-striping for separate different modes of transportation. The village also hopes to add a wayfinding sign off Southview Avenue.
Currently, the path from the tunnel to Southview Avenue comprises an unpaved road with a single sidewalk on its western side that runs south to a railroad spur. From there, another sidewalk springs up, bringing pedestrians west past a small lawn and stormwater detention area before it turns south again to connect to the tunnel.
