I realize that its unlikely, but is St. Louis ready should the new administration offer to fund public works projects in the area? Obama has indicated that he wants to spend on infrastructure and they've stated that they will be looking for projects that are ready to go. Missouri IS a state that just barely went to Mccain so they would have incentive to throw money our way (though that money would have a greater impact if spent in the rural counties - admittedly).



Its a bit pie in the sky I know, but if I was in city government I would have a proposed metrolink extension ready to drop on his desk immediately. The project makes sense - it SHOULD be damn near ready to go (from a planning standpoint) and the price fits in nicely with the sort of projects the administration might want to fund. A billion or so for two metro link lines (we pick up the rest) .... would definitely jump start the area - and qualify as a "green" project.



how about the high speed rail lines from Chicago to St. Louis? I would rather have more metrolink but I'd take that in a heartbeat.



I just worry that if St. Louis is offered money - we'll think small as usual. Ask for highway repair dollars and the like. Rather than secure a new big budget infrastructure item for the city ...

^actually, MetroLink is a long way off. The northside/southside alignments were selected, but need to go through further design/refinement. My guess is the City would try to get money to replace the Kingshighway bridge south of I-44 or the Tucker bridge north of downtown. I don't think funding high speed rail is too much out of the question, especially since the midwest hub would be the President's home state.





I'd love to see a set-aside program though that would encourage more mass transit construction. It would have to provide 80% federal match though, compared to today's 50%. Also, the feds may have to provide operating funds to transit again since many agencies are facing possible cuts.

That's the answer I expected. I really wish St. Louis would get on the ball. I know i takes a long time to plan these things but could we expedite the process? we have been "planning" these lines for years now.



the problem is that any infrastructure projects green lighted in the name of stimulus will be projects that are ready to go NOW. Its the nature of stimulus. ... you want the money in the system quickly not two years from now.



I suspect you're right though. The state will likely go for the Mississippi bridge or highway repairs. I could see high speed rail too (especially because it hits several states that are key battleground states). All of these projects are good and necessary - but they're not game changing. a competent urban rail system could actually make downtown a vibrant place again ... i don't see any of those other projects doing that.

An absolutely ideal extra federal bump would be the rebuilding of the depressed lanes into a parkway and the elimination of the 70 barrier to Laclede's Landing. All this could be tacked on the the new river bridge. Of course, that would mean that someone in the local power structure had actually talked about such an option. Oops.

Bonwich, I agree whole heartedly on your thought. Preliminary Desgin and engineer along with respective agreements (City, MoDOT, Federal Parks, etc.) could have been accomplished for an at grade Memorial drive between Poplar Street bridge and MRB a long time ago. Fast tracking the bridge construction and providing stimulus funds for additional improvements on each side of the river would be a major boost to the area.



As a relative newcomer, I become ever more dissappointed when the Post Dispatch writes an editorial that hints at infrastructure (we need connectivity), Danforth (can't offend him for having small thoughts - we need a lid to my new museum), and the riverfront in the same opinion.



As far as stimulus, I believe MoDOT in conjunction with the county/city will be able to put some projects out fairly quickly. The two projects that I can see happening quickly in the city under a stimulus plan is the New Tower Grove interchange for Barnes Jewish and Grand Ave Viaduct replacement. Both projects are needed and I hope they incorporate a better approach to pedesterian access. Having a new Shriners Hospital being built, new bridges, a well designed Drury Inn going on the same time would be impressive. The city might be able to get North Trucker rebuilt. I would rather see a multitude of small but significant projects happening immediately then the North/southside light rail dream.



In St. Louis County, I can see I-170 being rebuilt between the New I-64 and the new Olive Interchange along with bridge replacements.

Given its reduced operating footprint and drastically cut service frequency mandated recently by County voters, Metro needs to use their federal stimulus to just pay for low-cost, bandaid solutions, like articulated buses. Otherwise, on routes like Grand, buses will soon be passing up patrons.

From where will all this cash come, especially considering the few trillion dollars worth of upcoming residential and commercial mortgage bailout packages? And then there is the possibilty of a consumer debt bailout package, the size of which is anybody's guess at this point...

to JBlues:

hey I'm not advocating the largess but if they're going to hand it out I want to be in line.

Heh, just imagine... if congress had, instead of passing a 700 billion dollar bail-out package, given that 700 billion to the 25 largest metropolitan areas to help rebuild infrastructure and encourage economic development... About 28 billion per metro area.



I don't know if that's even possible, but it's funny to dream about. 28 billion could make a hell of a lot of difference, I think.

^Yeah, just imagine. Then every city could have it's own version of the Big Dig*.



* Estimated cost in 2006 dollars: $6 billion, most recent estimate of actual cost, including interest (but not including repairs and legal expenses): $22 billion (and rising), having Ted Kennedy as your Senator: Priceless!

The federal bailout monies are loans and, in some cases, direct investments in various securities. They're not handouts. And as much as the politicians would like you to believe it, federal money is not free. It comes out of our pockets.

jlblues wrote:^Yeah, just imagine. Then every city could have it's own version of the Big Dig*.



* Estimated cost in 2006 dollars: $6 billion, most recent estimate of actual cost, including interest (but not including repairs and legal expenses): $22 billion (and rising), having Ted Kennedy as your Senator: Priceless!

Not defending the big dig, but at least Ted Kennedy's boondoggle of billions spent on infrastructure is in the USA. Unlike Dubya's which is in Iraq . More American taxpayers are likely to see their money at waste in the Big Dig than on Iraqi Highway 101

Federal bailout as it is structured does offer a good possibility of recouping the governments investments. An idea, any return above and beyond the pay out should go to an infrastructure bank.

southsidepride wrote:

jlblues wrote:^Yeah, just imagine. Then every city could have it's own version of the Big Dig*.



* Estimated cost in 2006 dollars: $6 billion, most recent estimate of actual cost, including interest (but not including repairs and legal expenses): $22 billion (and rising), having Ted Kennedy as your Senator: Priceless!

Not defending the big dig, but at least Ted Kennedy's boondoggle of billions spent on infrastructure is in the USA. Unlike Dubya's which is in Iraq . More American taxpayers are likely to see their money at waste in the Big Dig than on Iraqi Highway 101

Actually, give Tip O'Neill some credit for that boondoggle too.

A new I-44-Shrewsbury interchange and throw in some ramps right into the Metrolink parking lot.

A new I-170-FPP interchange. They should have done it when most of the FPP was closed. It would've been nice to have for the I-64 closure.

Rework the ramps off of I-64 just west of Union Station and promote some development in the freed-up space.

Or perhaps tack on a third year of I-64 reconstruciton and redo all of I-64 from Kingshighway to US.

southsidepride wrote:

jlblues wrote:^Yeah, just imagine. Then every city could have it's own version of the Big Dig*.



* Estimated cost in 2006 dollars: $6 billion, most recent estimate of actual cost, including interest (but not including repairs and legal expenses): $22 billion (and rising), having Ted Kennedy as your Senator: Priceless!

Not defending the big dig, but at least Ted Kennedy's boondoggle of billions spent on infrastructure is in the USA. Unlike Dubya's which is in Iraq . More American taxpayers are likely to see their money at waste in the Big Dig than on Iraqi Highway 101

If you are going to respond and use the , perhaps you could write something reasonably clever and relevant? Hell, at the very least, how about writing something coherent?

Actually just about all of the credit for getting the Big Dig funded should go to Tip. The earmark was pretty much a retirement gift to the retiring speaker at a time when transportation earmarks were no where numerous as they are today.

So what projects are ready to go? The ones I can think of:



• Phase II of Route 364 in St. Charles County

• New ramp(s) at I-270/Page

• New I-70 bridge downtown



Umm... Maybe they could finish painting the double-decker section of 40 downtown so it doesn't look like it's going to rust through and kill us all?

^they won't finish the painting until the earthquake retrofits are completed. Most likely that won't be until 2011(or so).

Ah. I thought they were done with that.



I was just surprised when I was in town last. I moved to KC two years ago, but was back a couple of weeks ago for an interview, and I'd expected it to be done by now.

I've read that several states have projects lined up for "stimulus infrastructure spending." I really hope we have our act together on this front. We do have a lot of political capital - being a state that barely went republican. Swing states can demand pork.

^^It was supposed to be done by now, it's taken them much, much longer to complete the work than originally planned. There was an article about it in the P-D a few months back, I think it was originally slated for completion three or four years ago, but costs went up and issues with right-of-way arose.



They painted the part by the stadium at least so millions of Cards fans don't have to stare at the drab rusty olive green paint.