Orland Park Trustees To Vote On New Austin Tyler Contract

ORLAND PARK, IL — An Elwood construction firm under fire for threatening Orland Park's wetlands may be awarded a $1 million contract to improve roads in the village's Fernway subdivision.

Austin Tyler Construction was the lowest bidder for the road and ditch project at $1.075 million. The next highest bidder, Christopher B. Burke Engineering of Rosemont, came in at $1.14 million.

The bid was moved through the public works committee this week, and board members Kathleen Fenton and Jim Dodge sent it to the full board for approval without recommendation, which means trustees will likely discuss the measure before voting to approve it. There are questions about why Austin Tyler routinely comes in as the lowest bidder with thin margins, several trustees said.

The work in the 1960s-era subdivision had been expected and budgeted. It's part of a years-long project to upgrade outdated roads, and will include full pavement reconstruction with the addition of concrete shoulders to support the pavement edge. This year, the village will focus on Robinhood Drive from 167th Street to 165th Place, 166th Place and 166th Street. The improvements on Robinhood Drive also incorporate the construction of a new parking lot adjacent to Wlodarski Park at the northeast corner of 167th Street and Robinhood Drive.

In June, a government regulatory agency found that Austin Tyler had failed to properly protect the Humphrey Drive wetlands near a construction site from contaminated storm run off.

In May, Orland Park's trustees were forced to rescind a $3.5 million roads project and re-award it to Austin Tyler because the board that did not follow state laws regulating bidding for public works contracts when it added work to the original bid. Orland is borrowing money for the major roads-improvement project, and several trustees at the time questioned why the work was awarded piecemeal rather than folded into a larger public works project through the typical budgeting process.

The next village board meeting is at 7 p.m., Mon., Aug. 9.