St. Louis Studying Ambitious, $2.2 Billion MetroLink Proposal

The city of St. Louis is taking the first official steps toward the ambitious Northside-Southside MetroLink proposal.

1 minute read

February 27, 2017, 7:00 AM PST

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


St. Louis

Paul Sableman / Flickr

Leah Thorsen reports on the early efforts to evaluate a proposed Northside-Southside MetroLink route in St. Louis.

Early into the study, according to Thorsen, "a main focus is learning what has changed since the route last was examined in 2008" while looking for ways to "connect to the $1.75 billion National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency headquarters set to be built just northwest of downtown…"

Thorsen quotes Dan Meyers, a project manager with AECOM, which is leading the consulting team for the study, to explain the initial steps of the study. One early benchmark to look for is a community engagement plan—expected to be implemented as early as April or May.

Thorsen also describes the current, speculative vision for the project: "A 31-mile route from north St. Louis County through the city and into south St. Louis…with a pricetag estimated at $2.2 billion."

Planetizen last checked in with the Northside-Southside project in June 2016, when the long-serving mayor of the city, Francis Slay, expressed strong support for the project.

Friday, February 24, 2017 in St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Lake Powell with much of the water evaporated.

Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River

Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.

October 30, 2026 - Yale Environment 360

A road in north eastern Nebraska with power lines on either side, and grassy fields.

Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity

Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.

November 6, 2026 - Grist

A rendering of a mall turned living space. People walk around a green space surrounded by apartments.

Malls are becoming the midtowns of the future

Mall and office park redevelopments are a generational opportunity to create new nodes of urbanity.

October 29, 2026 - Ben Schneider

A car drives through a puddle in NYC

NYC breaks ground on anti-flooding infrastructure project

New York City's new system will reduce stormwater flows to local sewers by 90%.

November 9 - Smart Cities Dive

Members of the Smoketown CLT gather for a photo

One Kentucky town’s secret to affordable housing

The Smoketown Community Land Trust has already built seven affordable homes for community members.

November 9 - Reasons to Be Cheerful

Two people stand under mesh coverings shaped like petals

Houston gains petal-shaped cooling infrastructure to make streets more ‘delightful’

The city has installed the pavilions along 15 blocks in Houston.

November 9 - De Zeen

FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?

After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.

Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold

The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.