By Megann Horstead | For The Bugle
sweditor@buglenewspapers.com
@JolietILNews
The Joliet City Council voted March 1 to approve an intergovernmental agreement between the city and Pace for the construction of a bus facility and improvements to St. Louis Street, a road leading up to the station.
Voting in favor of the matter coincides with the development of the Joliet Multi-Modal Transportation Project.
The project requires a right-of-way that is 20 feet on the east side of St. Louis Street. Expansion calls for the relocation of a Pace-owned parking lot, located next to their maintenance facility, and employee parking lot to accommodate the road. Pace is offering the property at no cost to the city, according to the agreement.
Officials in Joliet are budgeting local funds, valued at $127,000, for improvements to the roadway and future grant funds, valued at $127,000, for the parking lot.
Contract for train station platform approved
Also at that March 1 regular meeting, officials approved a contract for a train station platform that is part of the Joliet Multi-Modal Transportation Project. The vote grants a low bid on the project to Walsh Construction.
After examining railroad requirements, site constraints and schedule-driven price increases, the engineer’s estimate rose from $15.63 million to $16.03 million, which is a 15.5 percent increase. Delaying the contractor’s award means other engineering bids are no longer on the table, officials said. The project will funded by state and city contributions from the grants and special revenue fund, as well as multi-modal transport center funds.
Once the budget impasse ends, the city said it will be refunded $362,420. The remainder of the money for the construction of the parking lot will be reimbursed from BNSF funds.