urbanSTL

The amount of Schnucks bags that would get stuck in that thing....

Creative design in an area begging for improvement. I like it!

I said the other day that I doubt something like this ever sees the light of day, and I still think feel that way. 

But if this were something that were going to ever happen, I also don't think this is the finalized look. I think there would be some design tweaks before it became actionable.

Personally, I'd be a huge fan of something like this. I hope I'm wrong and that we see ambitious projects like this around St. Louis, particularly in and around downtown. 

If we start now and fit it to St. Louis.......
Oh well some of us dream
20 years ago, Seoul tore down an elevated highway and built a park in its place. “The restored waterway has been a triumph.” It attracts millions of visitors, improves air quality, manages floods, cools the city, and hosts plants & wildlife.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jan/17/seoul-cheonggyecheon-motorway-turned-into-a-stream

In other news they finally resurfaced the bike path on the riverfront. Unfortunately the flood wall is still closed on Carr, was told it would reopen sometime this winter though so still holding out hope

^repainted with black paint. Same surface.

So the flood wall should be open just in time for the Spring floods.

With the news of the Millennium Hotel site redevelopment, I made a visual of what an extended "cap" over I44 could look like to limit noise, unsightly views, and connectivity challenges between the proposed development and Gateway Arch National Park, and downtown as a whole. Filling the gaps between Pine St. and Walnut St. are pretty straightforward and allow for the park to hug Memorial Drive. As the highway rises to grade both north and south of those streets however, the cap could potentially slope up with the road surface to allow the cap to push further and create raised hoods over the portals to the capped area, which would help with sound infiltration and screen views of the interstate while in the expanded park space. Most importantly a direct connection could be made with the Clark St. pedestrian plaza that has been shown in the first renderings of the Cordish proposal, creating a more seamless connection from the Arch grounds, through the new development, into Ballpark Village, and beyond. The extra space on top of the expanded cap could allow for a reorganized connection to the I55 interchange and the parking/plaza spaces in front of the Basilica, as well as more greenspaces and opportunities for more programmed interactive amenities that the rest of the Arch grounds lack.

Of course there is debate whether I44 should be removed along the Arch grounds completely which ultimately it probably should be (along with all of the urban interstates carving through much of the city). Capping the existing situation to the fullest extent without spending more on fully reconstructing and regrading the interstate itself is a fairly feasible route to take if funding were to be made available. Going this route would allow for the tunneled area to be reused for a freight corridor, light rail, or even filled in when the political will eventually comes about to remove the highway entirely, while ensuring the park space remains tight knit with downtown without the risk of being separated again by an at-grade high traffic boulevard. This would also retain the existing cap and bridges that were replaced less than a decade ago and respects the investments already made. 

Would love to know people's thoughts and suggestions!

Thank you for the rendering. It would certainly be an improvement. It naturally mends into the current lid. The connection between the arch grounds and downtown has been all I have thought about in the aftermath of the proposal release.

I think because of the slope at 64 and the elevated portion at Washington, the lid will be limited in fully connecting the grounds to memorial. The 64/44 interchange also intrudes into the park in its current state which a lid won’t solve.

Because i-44 in front of the arch has little utility post the new i-70/Musial bridge, I would prefer (1) filling in the interstate as parkland to connect it to Memorial which would then be the road abutting the park, or more creatively, (2) Making the interstate into a 4 lane at grade boulevard from 64 to the 70 bridge and memorial/lumiere place blvd on their current footprint are converted to “promenades” with sidewalks, heavy landscaping, bike lanes on each side of the new boulevard, street parking in between the new boulevard and those wide sidewalks/promenades.

I may be pie in the sky though

Good concept. I think this is the most reasonable approach.

delmar2debaliviere2downtown wrote: ↑

Feb 20, 2025

(2) Making the interstate into a 4 lane at grade boulevard from 64 to the 70 bridge and memorial/lumiere place blvd on their current footprint are converted to “promenades” with sidewalks, heavy landscaping, bike lanes on each side of the new boulevard, street parking in between the new boulevard and those wide sidewalks/promenades.

This was my initial thought to the idea of removing the sunken highway as well, but after thinking about it, doing this would create a lot of conflict points between pedestrians and traffic that currently doesn't exist and kind of perpetuates high traffic through this corridor (it still carries about 30k vehicles per day in each direction). Plus the idea of tearing out what was already done and putting at least 50 feet of asphalt (plus turn lanes plus bike lanes plus parking) no matter how dressed up and landscaped it is, right in front of the beautiful entrance to the Arch museum is a real bummer.

My pipe dream highway replacement is a long row of smaller, historical scale (2-4 stories), buildings with retail facing the Arch grounds. Turn the existing Memorial drive into an alley. Imagine Old Town St. Charles, but the east side of the street is just the Arch. This could run from the PSB to the MLK Bridge.

Thanks for rendering.   I would be curious what is rule of thumb how linear feet of freeway you could cap without adding the mechanical ventilation cost.  Upfront cost of constructing the lid itself but once you have to incorporate mechanical ventilation you are introducing never ending cost to maintain as such.  Lacking the knowledge so curious if any insight as I can see maybe introducing some silvers of open ventilation but that only takes away from the point of extending the lid itself.  

My pipe dream which I think is doable from constructability standpoint but who knows from political standpoint even possible now is removing the raised section between Wash Ave and Cass Ave.   Wash Ave becomes at grade and combined with a more pedestrian/bicycle friendly Eads bridges give downtown an unique urban corridor right too and across the Big Muddy.  

dredger wrote: ↑

Feb 20, 2025

Thanks for rendering.   I would be curious what is rule of thumb how linear feet of freeway you could cap without adding the mechanical ventilation cost.  Upfront cost of constructing the lid itself but once you have to incorporate mechanical ventilation you are introducing never ending cost to maintain as such.  Lacking the knowledge so curious if any insight as I can see maybe introducing some silvers of open ventilation but that only takes away from the point of extending the lid itself.  

My pipe dream which I think is doable from constructability standpoint but who knows from political standpoint even possible now is removing the raised section between Wash Ave and Cass Ave.   Wash Ave becomes at grade and combined with a more pedestrian/bicycle friendly Eads bridges give downtown an unique urban corridor right too and across the Big Muddy.  

Yes, the elevated section is very much a blight.

dredger wrote: ↑

Feb 20, 2025

Thanks for rendering.   I would be curious what is rule of thumb how linear feet of freeway you could cap without adding the mechanical ventilation cost.  

The current lid is about a wide as can be so that it's a bridge and not a tunnel.

Nice writeup on the Old Courthouse in the NYT: https://archive.ph/SHbto
I'm looking forward to May 3

Back in the 1980s, with reservations rangers would take folks on a tour up into the upper dome, up between the inner and outer dome walls, and outside at the top for a view from the tiny circular balcony. I did it back then with a small group. I’d love for them to start that again.


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https://www.firstalert4.com/2026/03/11/ ... ew-burger/

Is this the first step to getting the McDonald’s riverboat back?

Would be awesome. Regardless, would love to see Gateway Foundation float some discussion about bringing more Riverboat restaurants and activities in front of the arch steps. Any way to bring more attention and activity to downtown and our riverfront would be welcomed. City has a completely different feel when the arch and riverfront are popping (such as 4th of July)

keepstlbrick wrote: ↑

5:33 PM - Mar 11

https://www.firstalert4.com/2026/03/11/ ... ew-burger/

Is this the first step to getting the McDonald’s riverboat back?

Would be awesome. Regardless, would love to see Gateway Foundation float some discussion about bringing more Riverboat restaurants and activities in front of the arch steps. Anyway to bring more attention and activity to downtown and our riverfront would be welcomed. City has a completely different feel when the arch and riverfront are popping (such as 4th of July)

I sure hope so! While simple, the concept was a huge part of many STL kid's childhoods. It was so cool, barge or not. Bring it back!