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Greater St. Louis’ central location is near the geographic center of the United States and closer than any other metropolitan area to the population center. The St. Louis, MO-IL MSA is within approximately 500 miles of one-third of the U.S. population and within 1,500 miles of 90 percent of the people in North America. This location at the intersection of many large national transportation routes of all types is a big part of what makes St. Louis “Perfectly Centered” and “Remarkably Connected.” AIR Lambert-St. Louis International Airport (1) The St. Louis area’s main airport, Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, is a national hub with two terminals, five concourses, and 85 gates serving 20 airlines (2). American Airlines has a significant presence at Lambert in addition to Southwest and other low-cost providers, making airfares competitive. The following are recent volume statistics for the airport.
A $1 billion expansion project creating a new 9,000 foot runway, Runway 11-29, and improving capacity, was completed in 2006 and will minimize delays, particularly during inclement weather. The airport has started work on its $16.9 million “Airport Experience” renovation project for the main airport terminal. This update will improve the look and function of terminal including facility maintenance, in-bound baggage claim system, and improved signage. The airport has also started work on adding more local restaurants and vendors (3). Conveniently located in the region, Lambert is 15 minutes from downtown St. Louis and has on-site access to the newly expanded MetroLink light rail system.
MidAmerica Airport MidAmerica Airport serves as the St. Louis Region’s second full service commercial airport and as a reliever to Lambert-St. Louis International Airport. Located in St. Clair County, IL, it provides state-of-the-art facilities for passengers, traffic, and cargo, including an adjacent 800-acre industrial park. It has a 10,000 foot and an 8,000 foot runway and serves cargo, commercial, and military flights. Much of the area surrounding the airport is an Illinois Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District designed to help appropriate new businesses locate nearby and the airport is part of a Foreign Trade Zone. The MidAmerica Airport is 24 miles from downtown St. Louis, and is also served by MetroLink (4). Other Airports
RAIL (5) Home to six Class I railroads and several smaller industrial rail lines, St. Louis is the nation’s third largest rail center, representing a major employer locally. Class 1 (6)
Short Lines
Passenger
WATER Tri-City Regional Port District Statistics (9) Size: Located on over 1,200 acres on the Mississippi River, the port offers intermodal resources not found in other U.S. markets with access to the River's Edge Business Park containing over 800 acres of space for distribution, warehousing and manufacturing. Volume: The Tri-City Regional Port District serves approximately 2,500 barges annually and is served by all major barge lines. Channel Depth: Depth varies between 10 and 45 feet, with an average depth of 32 feet. Minimum Channel Width: 300 feet (91.4 meters) Season: The port is the northernmost year-round ice free port on the inland waterway. FOREIGN TRADE ZONES (10)
HIGHWAY Four interstate highways intersect the St. Louis region.
Four interstate linkages provide further connections for St. Louis motorists.
The "Avenue of the Saints" highway from St. Louis to St. Paul, Minnesota was completed in July 2008 after 15 years of work. The 550 mile, four lane expressway "high-priority corridor" adds yet another major spoke to St. Louis' interstate transportation hub (11). Interstate 64 Reconstruction (12) Interstate-64 is currently undergoing a $535 million reconstruction project in St. Louis County and the City of St. Louis scheduled for completion in October of 2010. The project involves replacing aging bridges, improving flow, reducing noise, and improving safety through the upgrade of pavement, a new interstate to interstate connection between I-64 and I-170, the addition of traffic lanes, elimination of short entrance/exit ramps and merges, and enhanced safety with wider shoulders. The first half of the project involving 5 miles of highway west of the I-170 interchange is ahead of schedule and work on the next section, east of I-170 will start in December 2008. New Mississippi Bridge In 2008, the states of Missouri and Illinois agreed on the construction of a new Mississippi River bridge connecting to downtown St. Louis. The $640 million, 4-lane bridge will be a cable-stayed design carrying I-70 across the river and relieving traffic on the Poplar Street Bridge downtown which currently carries I-55, I-64, and I-70 traffic. Bridge construction should begin in 2010 and take between four and six years to complete (13).  INTERMODAL FACILITIES
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION (14) Metro operates the St. Louis Metropolitan region's public transportation system. The Metro System includes MetroLink, the region's light rail system; MetroBus, the region's bus system; and Metro Call-A-Ride, a paratransit van system. Metro carried 54 million passengers on MetroLink, MetroBus, and Metro Call-A-Ride vans in Fiscal Year (FY) 2007. Metro has a fleet of 394 MetroBus vehicles, 87 light rail vehicles and 124 Metro Call-A-Ride paratransit vans. Metro has just completed an 8 mile, $676 million extension connecting the business center of Clayton as well as several inner ring suburbs. The MetroLink light rail commuter train system now encompasses 46 miles of track, 37 stations, 19 park-ride lots with 10,000 parking spaces, and 87 vehicles. Sources: |
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