Map details location of planned East St. Louis River Bridge District improvements. (Map courtesy St. Clair County)

Plans are proceeding on schedule for a multimillion-dollar renovation of the East St. Louis River Bridge District, designed helped transform the badly deteriorated area into bustling, state-of-the-art transportation hub.

Central to the effort is a planned new East St. Louis High-Speed Rail (HSR) Multimodal Station on Missouri Avenue, just east of the Casino Queen complex. The station, which will serve as the southern terminus for the planned new Illinois High-Speed Rail system’s St. Louis-Chicago route, will be located adjacent to I-64 and the area’s existing Metro-Link light rail line.

Paving the way for that project, literally, is a planned $8.1 million renovation of Front Street, the city’s main thoroughfare along the Mississippi River, and several connecting roadways.

The Bridge District improvements are designed to reposition the area for a new economic future based on logistics, distribution and light manufacturing, according to St. Clair County officials.

The road upgrade, in particular, will be important to maintaining the East St. Louis riverfront as a viable shipping terminus for Cargill, which owns and operates a landmark complex of grain silos along Front Street, and well as Bunge-SCF Grain, which has gain towers just up the road in Fairmont City, county officials say.

In all, the project could help save some 747 jobs in the area, county officials estimate.

The road improvements involve reconstruction of Front Street from Trendley Avenue in East St. Louis to the point where the road dead-ends in Fairmont City. It also includes resurfacing of Trendley from Front Street to Main Street, the reconstruction of West Missouri Avenue from Front Street to B Street, and reconstruction of B Street from Missouri Avenue to River Park Drive.

The U.S. Commerce Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) in September awarded a grant of more than $3.5 million for the road improvements. St. Clair County, the lead agency for the riverfront project, this month initiated the process of taking over the roadways from East. St. Louis.

“The Obama Administration is committed to ensuring our nation’s infrastructure is able to support business growth and job creation,” said U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker. “The EDA investments … will support development of this distressed region, attracting new businesses and enabling existing companies to retain jobs.”

The rest of the funding will come from a public-private partnership, led by St. Clair County, to pursue the renovation initiative. The Illinois Department of Transportation has pledged $2 million to the project with the Southwest Illinois Development Authority contributing $1.5 million. The St. Clair County Transit District has promised $800,000, the Metro East Park and Recreation District is chipping in $500,000.

Cargill, the Casino Queen and Bunge-SCF Grain have each pledged to contribute $500,000 toward the project.

“The East St. Louis River Bridge District has suffered from decades of disinvestment as a result of the high sulfur coal market’s collapse and manufacturers that have closed or relocated. New economic development is beginning to take hold as the businesses have developed in the River Bridge area, but the current infrastructure is not sufficient to support the development. EDA’s investment will support the rebuilding and enhancement of Front Street, Missouri Avenue, and B Street, which provide the critical connection to the interstate system, allowing access for high capacity, load, and logistical needs,” the state agency noted in announcing its grant.

Development of the HRS intermodal station is being funded through a similar partnership with a combination of federal, state and local dollars. The total cost of the station has not yet been announced.

St. Clair County has received a $3 million federal Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) planning grant for the station.  The Federal Highway Administration and the Illinois Department of Transportation have announced some $710 million investment in transportation investments in Metro East, including a similar HSR station on Alton.

The intermodal transportation station is expected to open in 2017.  County official hope to open bids for the roadwork this summer.

The riverfront makeover will also encourage tourism and recreation, county officials say.

At the north end of the Front Street project is 34.1-acre Malcom W. Martin Memorial Park, designed to complete the original plans for the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, with parks on both sides of the Mississippi River.  In addition to its Mississippi River Overlook, offering a spectacular view of the Gateway Arch, Malcom Martin Park is home to the Gateway Geyser, a fountain that erupts three times a day during the spring and summer months to a height of 630 feet, the same height as the Arch.

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— East St. Louis riverfront makeover moving forward —