FTA's Flowers tours St. Louis light-rail projects

Federal Transit Administration (FTA) head Carolyn Flowers earlier this month toured federally funded Metro Transit projects in St. Louis.

The tour began at the Civic Center Transit Center in downtown St. Louis, which serves both MetroLink light-rail lines. In April, crews began working on a $10.5 million project  to expand the hub.

When completed late next year, the center will include digital messaging boards, an indoor waiting area and concessions. The expanded center also will provide access for Amtrak and Greyhound riders who arrive and depart from the adjacent Gateway Multimodal Transportation Center.

The next stop on the tour was the Laclede's Landing MetroLink Station, where Flowers saw the work completed on the CityArchRiver project. Metro Transit received $1 million federal grant to raise Leonor K. Sullivan Boulevard to minimize the flooding impact from the Mississippi River on the St. Louis Riverfront.

Acting Administrator Flowers also took a ride on the light-rail train, where Metro Transit officials briefed her on the recently completed $48 million Eads Bridge rehabiltation project.

Federal funds supported 91 percent of the costs to rehab the 142-year-old bridge.

For her final stop, Flowers visited what will become the St. Louis region's newest MetroLink station — an infill station between the Central West End MetroLink Station and the Grand MetroLink Station in the Cortex Innovation Community.