Saint Louis CitySide St. Louis Front Page presents St. Louis CitySide, an overview of the City Government of Saint Louis. From time to time, we will take an indepth look at many of the projects in which the city is involved and how these projects will affect residents and visitors. ARCHIVED NEWS Construction Begins on St. Louis Transportation Hub 100 Black Men of Metropolitan St. Louis Break Ground on New Headquarters St. Louis Fire Department Honors Its First African-American Chief Officer and Fire Marshall MoDOT Clarifies Road Construction on New I/64 Project St. Louisans Celebrate the Life and Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. Family Justice Center in Downtown St. Louis to Help Victims of Domestic Violence Soldier's Memorial Plans to Better Serve and Honor Veterans St. Louis Riverfront Plan - If You Dream It, Can You Build It? St. Louis Great Fire Engine Rally Honors Firefighters Development of Riverfront Moves Forward With Arch Grounds Connector St. Louis News Community Info St. Louis Job News St. Louis CitySide Business News St. Charles News Southwest, IL News Art Gallery News Hotel News Restaurant News Style St. Louis Not Just For Kids   Downtown Map America's Center Busch Stadium Gateway Arch Savvis Center Laclede's Landing Old Courthouse Union Station Washington Avenue   Metropolitan Map Casinos Clayton, MO Grand Center Grant's Farm Forest Park Kimmswick, MO MO Botanical Garden Soulard St. Charles, MO West Port Plaza Transportation Lambert Airport

An unidentified family rides along the Riverfront Trail beneath the McKinley Bridge Bikeway and Branch Street Trestle which are being redeveloped by the Great Rivers Greenway District (GRGC) in cooperation with the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) and the Metro East Park and Recreation District (MEPRD). McKinley Bridge Bikeway and Branch Street Trestle Add Vital New Connection for St. Louis Region by Betty Moore, SLFP.com ST. LOUIS, (SLFP.com), August 5, 2006 - The McKinley Bridge, built in 1910 by the Illinois Traction System to bring its tracks into St. Louis and named after the company's president, William B. McKinley, is undergoing a dramatic conversion as a linear urban recreation area. (L. to R.) St. Louis Mayor Francis G. Slay and David Fisher, Executive Director of the Great Rivers Greenway District, discussed the significance of the $5 million project during a hardhat construction site tour of the McKinley Bridge Bikeway and Branch Street Trestle Connector. Russell G. Volmert, Director of Urban Design and Planning, HNTB, noted the incredible views of St. Louis from the 14-foot cantilevered deck during a hardhat tour of the McKinley Bridge from the Illinois side. (L. to R.) Mike Buehlhorn, Metro East Park and Recreation District and John Papa, attorney for the Park District, viewed the Mississippi River from the McKinley Bridge on the Illinois side showing the cantilevered deck under construction on the south side of the bridge. The McKinley Bridge, formerly a four lane route for vehicle traffic between St. Louis, Missouri and Venice, Illinois, has been closed since October 2001. The massive steel structure, just north of downtown St. Louis, is being rebuilt by a team of contractors including HNTB Corporation, Hardesty & Hanover, and Halverson Construction. In about a year, a 14-foot-wide biking and pedestrian route spanning nearly 3,000 feet from the Illinois abutment to the Branch Street Trestle on the Missouri riverbank will open to the public. The Great Rivers Greenway District (GRGD), the public organization leading the development of a region-wide system of interconnected greenways, parks and trails known as The River Ring, hosted a hardhat construction site tour of the McKinley Bridge Bikeway and Branch Street Trestle Connector for St. Louis Mayor Francis G. Slay and other dignitaries from the bi-state region. "I'm looking forward to pulling out my bike, dusting it off and riding it across the bridge someday." - Mayor Francis Slay "These trestles that we are looking here have been big concern of mine for a long time," noted Mayor Slay. "They are rotting. There's a lot of blight and they really don't say a whole lot about the infrastruction in this part of St. Louis. The Mayor noted that the McKinley Bridge is the third historic St. Louis bridge - after Chain of Rocks and the Eads - to find a new life and a new use. "To transform these trestles into something that's going to be used to help make St. Louis a more bike-friendly and pedestrian-friendly city is exciting. to say the least," stated Mayor Slay. "It's great to have so many partners working on this project to make it a reality on both sides of the river." The $5 million project by Greenway is being supported in Missouri by the 1/10 percent sales tax. The Branch Street rehabilition includes one-quarter million pounds of reinforcing steel and 1,200 cubic yards of concrete. The bikeway alone required 1.1 million pounds of structural steel, one-quarter million pounds of reinforcing steel, and 1,300 cubic yards of concrete. "The deck of the Branch Street trestle will be nearly 24 feet wide, providing an opportunity for long term planning with planters, water fountains and other points of interest," stated Russell G. Volmert, Director of Urban Design and Planning, HNTB. "We are particularly grateful to IDOT for their cooperation on this project, which is an important element of the City's plans for reinvesting in the near north side," said David Fisher, Executive Director of the Great Rivers Greenway District. "Becoming part of a well-planned system of interconnected greenways, parks and trails will have a long-lasting impact for the neighborhood that will include economic, environmental and social benefits for the entire region." Plans for the route in Phase Two include an historic elevated steel trestle that is part of an abandoned rail corridor from the Mississippi River to downtown St. Louis. The corridor was acquired from Ironhorse Resources, Inc. for $1.5 million in January 2006. The trestle comes to grade and merges with the Riverfront Trail at Branch Street. Greenway anticipates the route over the historic bridge will become a wonderful interpretive and historical experience of urban landscape of north St. Louis for bikers. In Illinois, the McKinley Bridge will provide access to the regional system of greenways, parks and trails being developed by the Metro East Park and Recreation District, including the Malcolm W. Martin Memorial Park in East St. Louis. Like the elevated High Line in New York City and the Promenade Plantée in Paris, St. Louis will be only the third city in the world to convert an elevated railroad viaduct into a linear urban recreation area. "Just imagine the bumpersticker on that," laughed Fisher. Saint Louis Front Page is owned and maintained by the Moore Design Group for the sole purpose of disseminating news and information about the Metropolitan Saint Louis area. Text or graphics may not be copied, rewritten or distributed in any manner whatsoever without written permission. For more information, contact editor@slfp.com All rights reserved world wide © 1996 - 2008 Moore Design Group .

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