This story was originally published in the St. Louis Business Journal on July 11, 2018.
Steph Kukuljan | St. Louis Business Journal
“The $172 million rehab of the Merchants Bridge is moving forward despite losing out on a federal grant.
The bridge’s owner, Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis (TRRA), said it’s working with the Bank of America Merrill Lynch in St. Louis to fund the project. TRRA was hoping to receive $75 million in Infrastructure for Rebuilding America, or INFRA, grants to offset about a third of the total build, with TRRA covering the remaining costs. The Missouri Department of Transportation and Bi-State Development Agency sponsored the Merchants Bridge application on behalf of TRRA last year.
TRRA said it decided to move forward without federal assistance because of the bridge’s condition and the “adverse impact” a non-functioning bridge would have on the economy. The organization said that a new bridge could double its current impact to more than $456 million in economic activity over a 20-year period. The Freightway Executive Director Mary Lamie said in an email that the bridge was expected to go out of service in next 10 years if it wasn’t replaced…”
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