Updated: May 10, 2012 2:16AM

Tinley Park trustees are expected to approve on May 15 an application for a state grant to fund a $1.7 million project to create a recreational trail from the convention center to the downtown area.

The proposed trail would be part of an Illinois Department of Transportation program that funds community projects that increase travel options and improve the aesthetic and environmental aspects of infrastructure.

The program typically pays for 80 percent of the funds needed for each community’s project.

That means the village would have to come up with about $345,000 to cover its share of the project cost.

Tinley Park’s plan calls for widening the sidewalk along Oak Park Avenue to include a multiuse lane from 183rd to 179th streets and widening the street from 179th Street to the Metra station to allow for a four-foot-wide bike path on the both sides of Oak Park Avenue.

The project also would include landscaping and crosswalk upgrades and extending the trail west on 183rd Street to the convention center.

The project is the first phase of the village’s streetscape improvements that are part of a long-term rezoning plan for the downtown corridor.