Type Light rail Locale Greater St. Louis | System St. Louis MetroLink Line length 12 miles (19 km) | |
Operator(s) Bi-State Development Agency Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ⁄2 in) | ||
The MetroSouth Corridor is a proposed light rail alignment for the St. Louis MetroLink light rail system in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. The proposed alignment would extend the Blue Line southwards from its current terminus at Shrewsbury-Lansdowne I-44 to as far as Butler Hill Rd.
Contents
History
Planning for the MetroSouth Corridor began in 1993 with the initial study of the Cross County Corridor which analyzed alternatives to improve north-south movements through the central portion of St. Louis County. The resulting light rail alternatives from this study were then broken up into three segments: segment 1 became the Blue Line and was completed in 2006, segment 2 became the MetroSouth Corridor, and segment 3 became the MetroNorth Corridor.
Detailed planning and environmental impact study of the MetroSouth corridor south of Shrewsbury-Lansdowne I-44 began in 2002 and was completed in 2005, but a final decision on a locally preferred alternative was deferred due to the lack of a source of funding.
Proposed alternatives
At the conclusion of the MetroSouth study in 2005, three primary alignment alternatives remained under consideration: the Blue alternative, the Orange alternative, and the Purple alternative. From the Shrewsbury-Lansdowne I-44 station, the Blue alternative would run southwards adjacent to the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railway terminating near Kenrick Plaza or continue to South County Center and then adjacent to I-55 terminating at Butler Hill Rd. The Orange alternative would follow the River des Peres until reaching I-55 where it turns to follow the highway southwards terminating at either Reavis Barracks Rd or Butler Hill Rd. The Purple alternative would extend the Blue Line by only 1 station, following the River des Peres and Watson Rd before terminating near Kenrick Plaza.