143rd Street Improvements
(Wolf Road to Southwest Highway)
The Village of Orland Park is the lead agency for improvements to 143rd Street (IL Route 7) from Wolf Road to Southwest Highway. The Village of Orland Park received Phase I Engineering Design Approval from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and IDOT on March 13th, 2023. The Village is initiating Phase II Engineering in Spring 2023 and is continuing to pursue various State and Federal funding sources for construction. Please view the Village of Orland Park project website for updates throughout the duration of the project.
A Public Information Meeting was conducted in an open house format (via Zoom) on December 17, 2020, for attendees to view a live project presentation, ask questions of the project team and make public comments. A recording of the Public Information Meeting is provided below. The following information within this website contains the same exhibits presented during the live Public Information Meeting for further stakeholder review and comment. Please click here for a PDF copy of the project brochure.
Questions or comments submitted from December 10, 2020 to January 11, 2021 are a part of the Public Information Meeting record, and documented in the Public Information Meeting Summary.
Click here for a Response to Questions Document, which addresses all general project questions received throughout the duration of the project, including the Public Information Meeting. Individual responses were provided for specific property related questions.
Public Information Meeting
Dec. 17, 2020 (6p.m.)
A live virtual project presentation was held via Zoom on December 17, 2020 at 6pm to present project materials and provide the opportunity to talk directly to the project team and ask questions. A recording of the virtual presentation is posted below. If you were unable to attend the meeting and you have questions, please submit an electronic comment (bottom of this page) or submit a comment form. The project team is available to set-up 1-on-1 meetings to discuss the project and address any questions, comments or concerns.
Public Information Meeting Materials
Below is a series of stations to take you through the project exhibits. Click on the exhibits to open the full-size file in a new window. Once open, you have the ability to zoom in.
Station 1: Project Overview
143rd Street Corridor
The Village leadership is taking part in a multi-jurisdictional effort to improve the 143rd Street corridor to widen it to five lanes from I-355 on the west to Cicero Avenue on the east, a distance of 15.1 miles. Currently, 8.9 miles of the corridor have been improved to five lanes, 2.6 miles of which are within Orland Park (Beacon Avenue just west of the Southwest Metra Service Line to the Village limits on the east). West of Beacon Avenue to Will-Cook Road (the west Village municipal limits), 143rd Street remains a 2/3 lane roadway and experiences significant congestion, safety issues, mobility deficiencies, roadway flooding, and lacks continuous sidewalk/paths.
This Phase I Engineering Study is focused on 143rd Street from Wolf Road on the west to Southwest Highway on the east, a distance of 1.7 miles. 143rd Street is five lanes at the eastern project limit (east of Southwest Highway) and is planned to be five lanes at the western limit (west of Wolf Road). The Village is currently in Phase II Engineering for improvements to 143rd Street from Will-Cook Road to Wolf Road.
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Project Development Process
The Phase I Preliminary Engineering & Environmental Study is the first step in the overall project development process and investigates the transportation needs and solutions along 143rd Street. The Phase I Study is anticipated to be completed in Spring 2021. The Village will be advancing the project into Phase II Engineering mid-2021. Phase II Engineering, which consists of contract plan preparation, will be funded with a combination of federal, state and local funds. At this time the Village has not identified funding for land acquisition, which is targeted to begin in 2023/2024.
Construction funding has not been identified. The current remaining project cost (Land Acquisition, Construction, and Construction Engineering) is $56.3 million. The Village is actively seeking state and federal funding for this important regional project.
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Phase I Study Process
The objective of the Phase I Study is to go through a process which starts with the identification of the project’s purpose and needs, prepare a range of alternatives to address those needs, identifies the preferred alternative and then preparing engineering reports. The purpose of this Virtual Public Meeting is to inform the project stakeholders of the preferred alternative and seek comments and input. Following the meeting, the project team will address comments and prepare the final Phase I Engineering project report for approval by the Illinois Department of Transportation.
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Station 2: Project Information
Traffic Information
One of the initial steps in the project development process is identifying the transportation issues and needs. Traffic counts are collected at all major intersections. Then traffic projections are obtained from the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) for the design year (year 2040), which is utilized for analysis and design of the project. Currently 143rd Street has an average of 14,600 vehicles per day, which is projected to increase to 23,000 vehicles per day by year 2040, an increase of 58%.
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Capacity
Evaluation of each major intersection is performed under three conditions: existing traffic, projected traffic (2040) with no improvements (No-Build), and projected traffic (2040) with the proposed improvements.
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Crash Analysis
A crash analysis is performed for the latest five years to identity crash patterns and formulate countermeasures to address any safety issues. There were a total of 490 crashes from 2014 to 2018, which resulted in 94 injuries (19%) and no fatalities. The predominant crash types are rear end (65%), turning (15%), and fixed object (7%). The high representation of rear end crashes is commonly associated with congestion, specifically around signalized intersections, and also lack of turn lanes along the corridor. The recommended countermeasures are to improve pavement and drainage conditions, add through lanes and median/center turn lane, add auxiliary turn lanes at intersections, and improve sight distance. Click on this link for more detailed crash data within the project study area.
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Existing Conditions
The existing conditions exhibit summarizes the findings during the data collection stage of the project. This includes wetland survey, floodplain/floodway identification, historic building locations, topographic survey to determine the right-of-way (publicly owned property for transportation/utilities), location of public lands, and any relevant studies (e.g. non-motorized plans). Generally, 143rd Street is a 2 or 3 lane roadway within a 66-foot to 80-foot right-of-way.
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Station 3: Proposed Improvement Information
Overall Proposed Improvements
To address the identified project purpose and need, 143rd Street is proposed to be widened from a 2/3-lane roadway to a 5-lane roadway with improved traffic signals, multi-use path (north), sidewalk (south), and new drainage system. A median is included the entire length of the project to provide a left turn lane. The median is typically a barrier type with a short section of flush median (Ridge Avenue to West Avenue).
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Typical Sections
A typical section shows a “slice” of the roadway at certain location along the project. Imagine that you are standing in the middle of the roadway looking to the east, so the left side is to the north and the right side is to the south. The below typical sections show an example where there is a barrier median and an example where there is a flush median.
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143rd Street Proposed Improvement
Below are proposed improvement exhibits for 143rd Street. There are five sheets linked to the first image for 143rd Street starting at Wolf Road (Sheet 1) and proceeding east towards Southwest Highway (Sheet 5). Separate exhibits are provided for the improvements to Wolf Road (Sheet 6) and Southwest Highway (Sheet 7). Due to the large file size, please allow some time for the exhibits to load.
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Wolf Road Proposed Improvement
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Southwest Highway Proposed Improvement
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Traffic Noise Analysis
A Traffic Noise Analysis was performed for the entire project study area following state and federal policies and procedures. The Traffic Noise Analysis resulted with one proposed noise wall, 10-feet in height, along the north side of 143rd Street, west of Wolf Road. Click here for the detailed Traffic Noise Report.
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Station 4: Land Acquisition
Land Acquisition
Property acquisition is required to implement the proposed improvements. Detailed analysis was conducted to minimize or avoid private property acquisition. To minimize impacts, 33 retaining walls are proposed throughout the project. The Village currently has not identified funding for land acquisition and is targeting 2023/2024 to initiate. Click on the below exhibit to learn about the different types of property acquisition. If you would like more information on the land acuisition process, click here for a link to a Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) brochure about land acquisition and click here for a link to the FHWA website.
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Forest Preserve Impacts
As part of the proposed improvement, there is proposed use of McGinnis Slough Forest Preserve, which must obtain federal approval. Below is a summary exhibit showing the general locations of the proposed use. Here is a link to detailed documentation of the proposed use of the McGinnis Slough Forest Preserve. The Village is seeking comments on this proposed use of public lands. Click on the image below to enlarge.
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Historic Property Impacts
As part of the proposed improvement, there is proposed use of seven historic sites, which must obtain federal approval. Below is a summary exhibit showing the general locations of the proposed use. Here is a link to a link to detailed documentation of the proposed use of historic sites. The Village is seeking comments on this proposed use of historic sites.
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Station 5: Comment and Questions Submittal
Ways to Comment
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Questions
To request hard copies of project information or for any general questions, you can reach out to the Village of Orland Park:
Department of Engineering Programs and Services
708.403.5003 │ eps@orlandpark.org
