Corridor Planning / MetroLink – East-West Gateway Council of Governments (EWGCOG)

Corridor Planning

East-West Gateway Council of Governments (EWG) conducts corridor-level transportation planning, an important part of the long-range transportation planning process. These planning efforts take needs identified in the Long-Range Transportation Plan, refine the understanding of those needs, and evaluate potential transportation strategies to address them. Corridor-level transportation planning takes place primarily within the context of Major Transportation Investment Analyses (MTIAs) and reflects both the St. Louis region’s concern about coordination and cooperation among the major transportation planning and implementing agencies and the need for a strategic process to evaluate and advance specific transportation investments.

The end result of these planning efforts is the selection of an investment strategy that best meets needs in the corridor and which fits within the region’s financial capacity. Corridor plans are the nexus between the long-range plan and project development.

MetroLink

As part of its corridor planning, EWG conducts studies of MetroLink expansion.

Northside-Southside – Jefferson Alignment “The Green Line”

On February 28, 2024, The East-West Gateway Council of Governments (EWG) Board of Directors voted to approve a revised route for a proposed new MetroLink “Green Line.” The vote is the first step in moving the proposed project forward by enabling further technical work and the ability to apply for federal funding for the line.

History
In 2018, the EWG completed the In 2018, the Council completed the Northside-Southside Study which examined light rail (LRT) investment in a corridor connecting Goodfellow Boulevard and I-70 on the north side of the City of St. Louis to Bayless and I-55 on the south side. The 2018 Study aptly reflected existing and anticipated development and mobility needs at the time. Since that time, both travel and development patterns have shifted. Economic growth in the Midtown and Downtown West areas of the city have increased nodes of activity west of downtown St. Louis. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic caused long-term changes on travel patterns, resulting in more remote work, fewer traditional commuters, and an increase of varying trip types on public transit. Given these changes, it was appropriate to examine an alternative alignment that could best serve the region under these shifting conditions.

Currently
Building on previous work, Metro Transit and the City of St. Louis began efforts in 2022 to alter the route alignment to better meet evolving needs. This work was completed in late 2023. This locally preferred alignment that primarily transverses Jefferson Avenue, was brought to the EWG Board of Directors in January, 2024 and approved by the Board in February 2024. This new Jefferson “Green Line” alignment, pictured below, will continue advancing toward construction and will be considered in the Federal Transit Administration’s Capital Investment Grant (CIG) competitive funding selection process.