About

June 2013

The creation of a regional freight district is recommended through the St. Louis Regional Freight Study and approved by the region’s metropolitan planning organization East-West Gateway Council of Government’s Board of Directors from throughout the bistate area. The study is conceived as a way to strengthen the economy of the St. Louis region while optimizing the network of cargo transportation throughout the bi-state area and beyond.

April 2014

The first meeting of the Freight Working Group – a team focused on implementing the mission, goals, and reach of the bi-state region’s new freight district – is held with the cooperation of a team of civic leaders and industry authorities from both sides of the Mississippi River.

September 2014

The St. Louis region’s freight district is launched as the premier system of managing and improving freight operations throughout the St. Louis area. Because the Bi-State Development agency is uniquely positioned as both an economic development leader and as an implementation arm for regional projects, it was selected by the East-West Gateway Council of Government’s Board of Directors in September to lead this freight initiative.

July 2015

Mary Lamie is hired by Bi-State Development as the Executive Director of the St. Louis region’s new freight district. Ms. Lamie is a professional engineer whose record includes over 25 years of experience in civil engineering, public transportation management, and funding strategies. Her experience brings a proven voice and direction to the forefront of the region’s freight district.

August 2015

With the support of the Illinois Department of Transportation, the Leadership Council of Southwestern Illinois released the 2015 Southwestern Illinois Freight Transportation Study. This study evaluated the bi-state region’s freight system and significantly influenced the Freightway’s identification of opportunities to fortify and expand the region’s freight economy.

December 2015

The “St. Louis Regional Freightway” name and brand image are officially born. In tribute to the region’s “Gateway to the West” identity, the Freightway is solidified as a recognizable, go-to source for all things freight within the bistate area, and most importantly – Your Gateway to the World.

April 2016

On April 27, 2016, the St. Louis Regional Freightway was publicly launched at the 2016 Freight Summit. A crowd of nearly 200 freight and logistics industry specialists, area business owners and executives, and elected officials attended the event in downtown St. Louis, Missouri.

The Freight Summit was organized to announce future projects and goals of the St. Louis Regional Freightway. The event featured an address by special guest, Federal Highway Administration Administrator Gregory Nadeau. The Freight Summit also celebrated the live launch of TheFreightway.com.

March 2017

The St. Louis Regional Freightway, America’s Central Port, St. Louis Port Authority and Kaskaskia Regional Port District and the Port of New Orleans entered into a Memorandum of Understanding in New Orleans, LA. This partnership is helping integrate the region’s supply chain with gulf coastal ports and has created an opportunity for steam ship lines to capitalize on the region’s competitive advantages and container on barge services.

October 2017

The St. Louis region’s port system is recognized as the country’s third largest inland port and the most efficient inland port. The region’s port system is responsible for 70 of the 855 miles (8 percent) of the Mississippi River. These 70 miles carry one-third of the river’s total freight, a direct reflection of the system’s efficiencies. The barge industry can handle 500,000 tons per mile, two-and-a-half times better than its competitors.

Those strengths are even more apparent along a 15-mile stretch of the Mississippi River, an area which has gained recognition as the Ag Coast of America. It is home to 16 barge-transfer facilities that, at total capacity, can handle more than 150 barges a day, the highest level of capacity anywhere along the Mississippi River.

December 2017

The St. Louis Regional Freightway partnered with the U.S. Department of Labor, TransPORTs, St. Louis Agency on Training & Employment, St. Louis Community College, Hogan Trucking, Vega Transportation and Schneider Trucking to launch an innovative new apprenticeship program aimed at training and increasing the truck driver workforce to meet existing and future demands.

March 2018

The St. Louis Regional Freightway and all four public ports from the St. Louis region signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Plaquemines Port Harbor & Terminal District from southern Louisiana to support development of a new transportation link with container on vessel services along the Mississippi River.

May 2018

The St. Louis Regional Freightway partnered with The Waterways Journal and Inland Marine Expo to host the inaugural FreightWeek STL, a four-day conference which brought together nearly 2,000 national industry leaders and experts to collaborate on the forward movement of America’s growing freight industry. The conference also highlighted the region’s enviable location as the epicenter of American logistics. To cap the event, the Freightway hosted its third annual Freight Summit Luncheon which was attended by more than 350 industry leaders. The luncheon included the release of the 2019 Freightway Multimodal Transportation Priorities list and a special presentation about container on vessel shipping.

May – July 2018

The St. Louis region receives over $400 million in multimodal transportation funding for projects identified as priority projects by the Freightway’s Freight Development Committee. Starting in May 2018, the Illinois Department of Transportation and Missouri Department of Transportation jointly announced funding for the $220 million I-270 Chain of Rocks Bridge replacement over the Mississippi River. In June 2018, $18.7 million was received from Illinois’ new Competitive Freight Program. In July 2018, the Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis agreed to provide $172 million in funding for the Merchants Rail Bridge replacement over the Mississippi River. This is a nationally-significant project as the Merchants Bridge provides services to six Class I railroads and Amtrak.

September 2018

Bi-State Development and the St. Louis Regional Freightway launch “I Choose STL,” a new platform promoting a positive image of the region through local jobs, workforce recruitment and training programs to the region and the Midwest. The pilot launch of IChooseSTL.com focused on promoting job and training opportunities for the St. Louis region’s trucking industry. The website is intended to serve as a resource for posting positive industry successes and quality of life articles that raise the region’s profile as one of the best places to work and live.

April 2019

The St. Louis region is again identified as the most efficient inland port district in the U.S. according to data from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). The region’s barge industry handled 472,400 tons per river mile, more than 1.6-times more efficient than the next closest competitor.

May 2019

The St. Louis Regional Freightway and the Port of Savannah forged a partnership to create a new connection between the St. Louis region and the largest single-terminal container facility in the western hemisphere. The Port of Savannah identified the St. Louis region as a key import/export market to which containers can consistently be distributed by rail at a lower cost for shippers.

August 2019

Missouri Governor Michael Parson visited the Mississippi River town of Herculaneum to find out more about a proposed Container-on-Vessel (COV) initiative. Governor Parson was joined by a group of Missouri lawmakers; Jefferson County elected officials; and representatives from the port authorities of Jefferson County, Kansas City, Jefferson City and others, and the group learned about the plan to use the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers and their tributaries to move large volumes of goods and commodities along the inland waterways. The COV initiative would reduce freight transportation costs and increase efficiency and reliability for shippers.

September 2019

The St. Louis region’s Ag Coast of America is expanded to reflect its role leading the world in addressing global food security concerns. Strategically located in the center of the U.S. and world’s agriculture production, the bi-state St. Louis region is recognized as a world leader in agriculture technology (agtech) research and grain barge handling capacity. With the world population expected to grow by 25% and exceed 10 billion people over the next 30 years, a critical need exists for efficient production and movement of food. The St. Louis Regional Freightway, 39 North and World Trade Center St. Louis collectively spotlighted the region’s capabilities to do both by cultivating the ecosystem with an expanded Ag Coast footprint that encompasses the region’s unmatched concentration of talent, capital, facilities, agtech companies and producers.

October 2019

The East-West Gateway Council of Governments (EWGCOG) Board of Directors unanimously endorsed the St. Louis Regional Freightway’s 2020 Multimodal Transportation Priority Projects List. These infrastructure projects received more than $1 billion in investments, and more than one-third of the projects had advanced to construction by the end of 2019. The projects included on this list were identified as priorities for the St. Louis region by business and industry leaders in the public and private sectors, as well as local and state officials, and the Missouri and Illinois Departments of Transportation (DOT). The Freightway’s Priority Project List is a great example of bi-state collaboration.

February 2020

The St. Louis region’s port system climbed to #2 for inland port total tonnage according to data from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The port system handled 37.4 million tons of commodities over the course of 2018 (the latest year for which data was available), a 13.2% increase over the prior year. The region’s port system also retained the #1 ranking for most efficient inland port district in the U.S. in terms of tons moved per river mile. The system also has the second highest concentration of port facilities per mile of all inland ports, contributing to growing awareness of a 15-mile stretch of the Mississippi River that flows through southwestern Illinois and eastern Missouri at St. Louis known as the Ag Coast of America.

May 2020

The St. Louis Regional Freightway’s 2020 Multimodal Transportation Priority Projects List is released and includes 21 projects representing a total investment of $2.2 billion, with half that amount covering infrastructure projects that are already under construction or funded and expected to get underway. Newly added projects included specific sections of the I-70 projects in St. Charles County (MO), I-55 improvements in Jefferson County (MO) and a Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis dewatering project in front of the Gateway Arch National Park (MO). Examples of recently funded projects included the $42 million I-255 /Davis Street Ferry Road Interchange in St. Clair County (IL), $80 million Illinois Route 3 Connector in St. Clair County (IL) and $600 million I-270 improvements (MO-IL)

May 2020

FreightWeekSTL 2020 goes virtual and identifies the St. Louis bi-state region as a global logistics hub that can support one aspect to an entire supply chain— from a company’s headquarters, research and development, and warehousing to suppliers and logistics. Infrastructure, both vertical and horizontal and a deeply and variably skilled workforce, along with a heritage of manufacturing, enables companies like World Wide Technology, Bunge, General Motors, Progressive Recovery and many others to compete in the global market. This supply chain ecosystem is unique and has adapted to and stands ready for post-COVID-19 shifts including regionalized and shortened supply chains and labor pools that supports each component of the supply chain.

July 2020

An article published in Area Development Magazine recognizes the bi-state St. Louis region for its regional depth and global reach, highlighting it as a location that can accommodate both a company’s logistics and talent supply chains, something that will enhance a company’s prospects for long-term viability and growth.

December 2020

The St. Louis Regional Freightway publishes its annual Year In Review Release, highlighting how the St. Louis Regional Freightway helped to advance the bi-state St. Louis region as a world-class freight hub in 2020 and raising awareness of the region’s resilience and continued importance in the global supply chain as the COVID-19 pandemic raged on.

The St. Louis Regional Freightway’s collaborative approach to freight project identification and prioritization was highlighted in a national report on the Importance of Highways to U.S. Agriculture.  Prepared by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), the report examines the importance of highway infrastructure to the efficient movement of domestic agricultural products and continued market competitiveness. It includes a case study highlighting the Freightway’s established record of fostering strong, results-oriented stakeholder collaboration that has resulted in significant infrastructure investment and attracted additional state, local and federal investment in regional infrastructure.  The report also calls attention to “High-Volume Domestic Agriculture Highways” (HDAH) that are essential to American farmers, the agriculture industry and downstream producers and represent the highways with large volumes of domestic agriculture moves. Corridor #16 from Sioux Falls, South Dakota to St. Louis, Missouri – which includes Interstate 70 connecting Kansas City to St. Louis — ranked as one of the 17 HDAH corridors. 

• January–May 2021

  The St. Louis Regional Freightway embarked on a significant update to its comprehensive website to reinforce its new marketing tagline for the bi-state area:  St. Louis Region – One Location. Global Access.  The refreshed content helps answer the question: Why should site selectors look at the St. Louis region? It showcases the region’s tremendous global connectivity by rail and the inland waterway system and highlights how the bi-state region delivers an abundance of talent to support all aspects of a company’s supply chain, from the C‑Suite to the shop floor, and the R&D Center to the warehouse dock. These and various other enhancements to the website were completed in advance of FreightWeekSTL 2021, which returned for the fourth consecutive year May 24-28. Held in a predominantly virtual format but with two in-person discussions that provided a welcome signal that things are getting back to normal after a remarkable year, the week-long conference once again delivered outstanding content that proved valuable in shining a national spotlight on the St. Louis region.

• April 2021

  Striking images showed dozens of container ships berthed outside of already congested West Coast ports and highlighted the plight of a 1,300-foot-long container ship stuck in the Suez Canal. These continuing supply chain disruptions prompted the Freightway to interview Panos Kouvelis, Director of The Boeing Center for Supply Chain Innovation (BCSCI) in the Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis, Mo., to discuss the importance of having a resilient supply chain and the need for new shipping alternatives which the St. Louis region could deliver. The resulting article captured widespread coverage in a range of local and national media outlets and highlighted the role the St. Louis region could play in providing options for shippers in this evolving environment.

• May 2021

  The St. Louis Regional Freightway’s 2022 Multimodal Transportation Priority Project List is released and features 21 projects representing a total investment of $2.75 billion. The I-70 road construction improvements from Route 141 to I-170 in Missouri near the St. Louis Lambert International Airport have been identified as a new high priority project. Other regionally important projects have made significant construction progress or continue to advance towards construction, including the highest-priority project, the Merchants Bridge Replacement (MO-IL) scheduled for completion in late 2023. Among the projects advancing towards construction are the I-255/Davis St. Ferry Rd Interchange (IL), I-64 Improvements from Green Mount Rd to Illinois Route 158 (Air Mobility Drive) (IL), segments of I-70 in Missouri and of I-270 in Missouri and Illinois, Illinois Route 3 Access Improvements (IL), and America’s Central Port Intermodal Improvements (IL).

• June 2021

  Demand for distribution space continues to grow, and a new report released by the St. Louis Regional Freightway reveals the southwestern Illinois and eastern Missouri region is rebounding from the uncertainty of 2020 and is well positioned to assist distributors and developers meet that demand. Continuing media coverage of the St. Louis Regional Real Estate Market Indicators & Workforce indicates that spec construction activity rivals pre-pandemic levels in the region.

• September 2021

  The replacement of the Merchants Bridge continues to top the St. Louis Regional Freightway’s infrastructure priorities, and it took a significant step forward in fall 2021 with the installation of the first of three new trusses. The St. Louis Regional Freightway hosted a riverboat cruise to provide a unique vantage point from which invited guests and media could witness the historic moment. The bridge serves six Class I railroads and Amtrak to cross the Mississippi River at St. Louis and is one of the nation’s primary east-west rail corridors serving the nation’s second largest rail hub by car interchange volume and third largest by gross tonnage. Completion of this landmark project is expected in 2023.

• October 2021

  Mary Lamie participated in a virtual webinar hosted by the St. Louis AgriBusiness Club on October 7, during which the interconnectivity of different transportation modes and need for reliability in both transportation and broadband infrastructure emerged as key ingredients for continued competitiveness of the U.S. agriculture industry. The event provided a unique opportunity for dozens of congressional staffers to hear directly from leaders in the key areas of transportation, technology, agribusiness and farming about the importance of infrastructure investment for the ag industry. More than 100 attendees gathered online for View of Infrastructure from the Ag Coast of America, which featured a comprehensive discussion on how infrastructure programs can best be implemented to benefit the transportation sector, enhance innovation and technology, and address climate initiatives.

• December 2021

  Key stakeholders behind the efforts to launch innovative Container-on-Vessel (COV) service to the Midwest announced on December 17 that Hawtex Development Corporation is signing on as the lead developer for a new COV port facility in Herculaneum, Missouri, just 30 miles south of St. Louis. The new port will be a critical link on the new, all-water, north-south trade lane connecting the Midwest and the St. Louis region to the lower Mississippi River and on to worldwide destinations.

  In another key milestone for the COV initiative, American Patriot Container Transport LLC (APCT), which is developing the patented new vessels that will carry the containerized cargo along the underutilized Mississippi, Illinois and Missouri Rivers, issued a solicitation in December to seven American shipyards for construction of four of the patented container on vessels that will provide the new COV service, and an option for four more. Proposals are due at the end of February 2022.

  The St. Louis Regional Freightway published its annual Year In Review Release highlighting how the organization played a pivotal role in 2021 in helping advance the bi-state St. Louis region as a global freight hub. It reinforced the advantages the region’s world-class freight network offers to shippers that are increasingly seeking options in the midst of continuing supply chain disruption across the nation and around the world.

• January–April 2022

  The St. Louis Regional Freightway continued to garner coverage reinforcing the St. Louis’ region’s positioning: One Location. Global Access. An article in the January issue of Global Trade Magazine was the latest to highlight the ongoing national supply chain crisis and the role the St. Louis region can play in helping to alleviate it for businesses and consumers. The article focused on the key takeaways from a webinar hosted by the World Trade Center St. Louis that featured a panel of experts discussing the global challenges being faced and how routing freight through the bi-State St. Louis region can be part of the solution. Read more here.

• May 2022

  The St. Louis Regional Freightway hosted the 5th annual FreightWeekSTL, which delivered a wealth of great content spotlighting a series of innovations, investments and partnerships that will make national and global freight movements more efficient. The week-long conference highlighted the St. Louis region’s role in those initiatives and reinforced that one location with global access makes this region a logistics and manufacturing hub primed for continued growth. Highlights can be found at www.TheFreightway.com.

  FreightWeekSTL 2022 kicked off May 23 with Innovation Day, featuring emerging technologies that have the potential to dramatically change the future movement of freight. The opening session highlighted the advancements being made by St. Louis start-up Intramotev Autonomous Rail — an autonomous, zero-emissions railcar that would be able to operate without the use of a locomotive. That new technology could enable better use of the U.S. freight rail network and help mitigate the type of supply chain challenges occurring around the globe, while reducing pollution in the rail industry.

  Innovation Day also featured an update on the latest plans to bring new Container-On-Vessel (COV) service to the Midwest. The Jefferson County Port Authority received at $25 million grant from Missouri officials to support the development of a new container facility at the port in Herculaneum. It will be a key hub on the new all-water, north-south trade lane connecting the St. Louis region to the lower Mississippi River and on to worldwide destinations. American Patriot Container Transport LLC (APCT) continued to make significant progress on port development and negotiations with shipyards for construction of the first four vessels that will be part of the new COV fleet. The U.S. Coast Guard and Seamen’s Church Institute’s Center for Maritime Education Work also began work this past year to prepare for the safe debut of those new vessels.

  The St. Louis Regional Freightway’s 2023 Multimodal Transportation Priority Project List was released and included 25 infrastructure projects in Illinois and Missouri totaling more than $3.8 billion. The investments are focused on strengthening critical roads, bridges, rail infrastructure, and port and airport facilities and help to drive the high level of industrial construction occurring on both sides of the Mississippi River in Illinois and Missouri.

• June 2022

  Coverage of the recently released Industrial Real Estate Market Report for the bi-state area reveals the region continues to see significant new investment in the industrial sector. Modern bulk distribution buildings under construction in the two-state area hit an historic high in early 2022, approaching 8 million square feet (MSF). The record level of construction illustrates the industrial real estate market in the southwestern Illinois and eastern Missouri region continues to expand to meet ever increasing demand as world and domestic markets strive to move beyond the disruption that defined the prior two years. In mid-2022, nearly 7.4 MSF remained under construction in the St. Louis region, a level of construction 78% higher than 2021 and 47% higher than the most recent five-year average. One hundred percent of the modern bulk construction projects underway are speculative, a level of speculative activity that is higher than in 2019, 2020, and 2021 combined, and a clear indication that developers believe the St. Louis market is a solid place for investment.

  Further evidence of the potential for future growth can be seen in more recent announcements, a few of which include plans for a $129 million St. Charles County industrial park in Missouri that is expected to create more than 950 jobs; a new $188 million industrial park to be developed by NorthPoint Development in Maryland Heights, Missouri; and electric car manufacturer Tesla’s plans to open a massive warehouse south of Interstate 270 in Illinois.

  Lufthansa Airlines launched direct flights from St. Louis Lambert International Airport to Frankfurt, Germany in June, marking the return of direct service to Europe for the first time in 20 years.

• July 2022

  The July issue of Site Selection Magazine featured an article titled Bridge to the Future, which focused on how St. Louis is building a better platform for transport & logistics. It highlighted the impending re-opening of the Merchants Bridge, progress being made on the plans to bring Container on Vessel service to the St. Louis region, and the growth in the region’s industrial real estate sector. Read more here.

• August 2022

  The St. Louis Regional Freightway hosted a Riverboat Cruise giving guests the opportunity to witness the work underway on the installation of the final truss on the Merchants Bridge. The installation of the third truss marked the last major milestone in the project to replace the bridge. The project has been the region’s highest priority infrastructure project since 2016.

  Also in August, the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) and Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) announced the selection of Chicago-based Walsh Construction for the Interstate 270 Mississippi River Bridge Replacement and Riverview Drive Interchange project. Jointly funded by IDOT and MoDOT, the bridge replacement project is the result of a unique collaboration between the two DOT’s that resulted in their ability to simultaneously secure hundreds of millions in needed funding to move forward. The multi-year construction project is expected to begin in January 2023.

• September 2022

  Topping the list of the region’s accomplishments in 2022 was the completion of the $222 million project to replace the Merchants Bridge over the Mississippi River. With the grand reopening of the new double track bridge in September, the St. Louis Regional Freightway celebrated the delivery of the region’s highest priority infrastructure project. The new structure can accommodate trains traveling in the opposite direction at the same time, doubling the capacity of the bridge, so it can move freight faster, more cost-effectively and reliably. Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis (TRRA) owns the bridge, which dates to the 1890s and crosses the Mississippi River at St. Louis serving six Class I railroads and Amtrak. TRRA provided 90% of the construction costs, making this project a model for public-private partnerships.

• October 2022

  In the St. Louis region, there were barge slow-downs and navigation restrictions along the Mississippi River due to low water levels, which negatively impacted the price to ship dry cargo freight. During the latter half of October, the National Weather Service reported water levels as low as three feet below stage level. Not unprecedented — in 1989 levels were 5.3 feet below and 5.6 feet below in 1964 — but not good for commerce. In addition, barge traffic was also being restricted due to the U.S. Coast Guard dredging operations to improve areas with extremely low water levels. This was all occurring at a busy time of year for corn and soybeans exports, and barge terminals in our area would typically be at peak production with long lines of trucks waiting to transfer corn and soybeans via a conveyer belt on to a barge. Farmers and shippers instead were stockpiling corn to wait for the river to rise in the spring with hopes of a higher profit margin.

• November 2022

  Directors of five of the busiest airports in the bi-state area gathered for a forum that spotlighted not only the unique collaboration that exists between them, but also their collective impact on the St. Louis region’s economy. The event revealed that St. Louis Lambert International Airport and Spirit of St. Louis Airport in eastern Missouri and MidAmerica St. Louis Airport, St. Louis Downtown Airport and St. Louis Regional Airport in southwestern Illinois have a combined annual economic impact that exceeds $10 billion. Between all five the airports and their tenants, they employ 36,500 individuals, a number that is set to grow in the coming year as major tenants such as Gulfstream and West Star Aviation expand their operations in the region.

• December 2022

  The St. Louis Regional Freightway hosted the first-ever Supply Chain Information Highway Ports Summit  in downtown St. Louis. Representatives included the Port Authority of New York/New Jersey, Port of Long Beach, Port of Miami, Port of Hueneme, Port of Oakland, South Carolina Ports Authority, The Northwest Seaport Alliance along with their partner UNCOMN (headquartered in the St. Louis Region!), who helped lead the strategic discussion on collaborative digital initiatives.