St Louis Area To Receive Federal Build Grant Funding

From the City of St. Louis:

September 16, 2020

The Department of Transportation has awarded two St. Louis-area projects a total of $28.75 million in funding through the Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) Grant program.

A $7.95 million grant is being awarded to the City of St. Louis for the Jefferson Avenue and 20th Street Revitalization Corridors Project. The funding will be used to provide for a multi-modal approach to manage access, congestion, and mobility in a corridor that is a vital connection to downtown St. Louis and the Next NGA West headquarters.

A $20.84 million grant is being will include upgrades to America's Central Port District located in Granite City. Additionally, the grant will support the Southwest Regional Port District and will allocate $9 million to the St. Louis Port Authority for port upgrades along the Mississippi River, including approximately 7,300 linear feet of new railroad track, barge loading equipment modernization, conveyor replacement, loading shed updates, and flood mitigation work among other improvements.

U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (Mo.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development was instrumental in the awarding of this grant. “Missouri’s greatest competitive advantage is our location,” said Senator Roy Blunt. “Having safe, reliable, accessible transportation is critical everywhere, but especially around a city like St. Louis where major railways, waterways and highways come together. And, with construction on the Next NGA West headquarters underway, it’s more important than ever to make sure people can easily travel in and out of the region and get around the city.”

Otis Williams, Executive Director of St. Louis Development Corporation stated, “Our ports and terminals need investments in infrastructure to handle the millions of tons of products. This major investment will allow some of these major infrastructure improvements to be accomplish.

The Administration is making significant investments in infrastructure, and the $1 billion in BUILD grants will repair, rebuild, and revitalize transportation systems across America.

This press release was produced by the City of St. Louis. The views expressed here are the author’s own.