Harvey Transportation Center

Project Overview

Metra and Pace, in collaboration with the City of Harvey, are embarking on an impressive project to modernize and relocate the Pace Harvey Transportation Center. The transit hub is home to 10 Pace bus routes with nearly 2,500 boardings each weekday.  The project includes the reconstruction of the transportation center on partially vacated Park Avenue adjacent to the renovated existing Metra Electric Line Harvey Station. This will ensure safer and easier transfers by connecting the Metra Electric Line which runs between Millennium Station in downtown Chicago and the South Side and south suburbs.

The entire facility will be accessible to people with disabilities and include a dedicated area for ADA paratransit vehicles, resulting in an upgraded riding experience and enhanced commuter access for all throughout south Cook County.

Project benefits include:

• Easier transfers between Pace buses and Metra trains, especially for people with mobility limitations.
• Enhanced commute access for those traveling into Chicago and the northern suburbs.
• Improved, fully-ADA compliant service, including a dedicated area for ADA paratransit vehicles, for riders with disabilities who use fixed route and/or paratransit service.
• New, interior waiting areas and passenger restrooms.
• A reconstructed exterior Metra waiting area.
• A canopied Pace boarding area with four additional bus bays.
• Metra platform improvements with new platform canopy.
• An expanded Metra entrance at Park Ave and 154^th Street and a modernized Metra entrance at 155^th Street.
• New retail space
• Modernized elevator
• A consolidated commuter parking lot
• Bicycle parking
• New lighting and wayfinding
• Increased hiring opportunities for hundreds of construction jobs in south suburban communities in need of reinvestment.

This project also aligns with the federal government’s new Justice40 economic investment initiative, as bus routes serving this hub travel through some of Illinois’ most underserved communities.

Project Area Map

Purpose

This project will transform Pace’s Harvey Transportation Center and the Metra Electric Line Harvey Station into a unified, modern multimodal transportation center to better serve the people of our region. Both facilities will be reconstructed for rider comfort, safety, and accessibility.

The station improvements will boost inclusive economic growth in the City of Harvey, create more jobs, enhance resident quality of life, and provide a more attractive transportation alternative to driving. These community benefits are aligned with the standard set by the Biden Administration’s Justice40 Initiative, aiming to implement more equitable development and infrastructure improvements in historically disinvested communities.

Funding

The total estimated project cost will be $70 million. Funding sources include a $20 million Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) discretionary grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation, investment through the State’s Rebuild Illinois bill, and Pace and Metra capital funds.

Future year funding may also need to be identified to complete the project.

Timeline

This project is currently in the design and planning stage.

Pace and Metra held an open house January 9-13 at the Harvey Public Library to get the community’s feedback on the design alternatives for the new Transportation Center. The feedback received there was presented to the Harvey City Council meeting on January 23, 2023.

On February 8, 2023, the Federal Transit Administration found that the project meets the criteria for a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) categorical exclusion in accordance with 23 C.F.R. § 771.118(c)(8), which streamlines the environmental reviews that must be completed in order to be eligible for federal funding.

Construction is expected to begin in 2024.

Proposed Project Improvements