Missouri Gov. Nixon in Support of Recovery Act funding for St. Louis River Terminal, Greenway Projects

September 17, 2009 -- JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - Missouri Governor Jay Nixon this week sent letters to Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood in support of federal funding for two projects that would provide economic benefits to the St. Louis region and the state of Missouri. The projects seek Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grants, which were authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009.

In the first letter, the Governor states his support for a project by the St. Louis Port Authority that would modernize and expand the municipal river terminal at St. Louis, transforming an aging publicly owned facility into a state-of-the-art intermodal hub equipped to serve a 21st-century bulk and container freight market. The investment, the Governor wrote, will spur job creation, support the needs of existing businesses, and attract value-added manufacturing to the state of Missouri.

Article continues below...

"In addition to the benefits for manufacturers in procuring raw materials and shipping finished goods, the proposed investment in the Municipal River Terminal will strengthen Missouri - and the nation's - distribution network for agricultural products, particularly those high-value commodities requiring containerization and other specialized handling," the Governor wrote.

The Governor noted that the St. Louis Port Authority is working collaboratively with other representatives of the Port of Metropolitan St. Louis to pursue a regional freight strategy, and that the project is part of a larger effort to realize the potential of St. Louis and Missouri within the national distribution network.

The other letter sent by the Governor to Secretary LaHood was in support of the Choteau Lake & Greenway (CL&G) project, a comprehensive approach that Gov. Nixon said was important for the resurgence of downtown St. Louis because it would tie the downtown region to the rest of the metropolitan area. The Choteau Lake & Greenway Master Plan - which would connect St. Louis parks through a system of urban lakes, wetlands and trails - is the central corridor component of the St. Louis regional greenways system.

"The Chouteau Lake and Greenway will place an emphasis on sustainable design and connectivity that can make St. Louis the prototype for what urban redevelopment can do to connect many of its natural amenities with environmentally conscious design," Gov. Nixon wrote.

The project also could serve as the terminus for a high speed rail connection to Chicago, a line that has been named a priority of the Midwest High Speed Rail Coalition, Gov. Nixon said.

Source: Missouri Governor