ST. LOUIS – A Metro line connecting north and south St. Louis is put on hold while Mayor Cara Spencer asks Bi-State Development for more information on the Green Line Project.
The preliminary cost is $1.1 billion for the project. At present, the project is 5.6 miles long, with 10 stops along the way. Bi-State Development said the total run time from one end to the other is set to be 19 minutes.
Mayor Spencer said $20 million has already been allocated for the project and said that work will continue. She said her concerns are with trying to meet the criteria for federal grant funds and wants to make sure the money will come through for the project.
“I’ve asked Bi-State to provide some real guidance,” Spencer said. “Some verification, some validation that we are in fact going to have a competitive proposal and if we need to make pivots now is the time to do that before we spend any more funds.”
Taulby Roach, president and CEO of Bi-State Development, said taking a pause on the project is normal with a new administration and is confident the project will continue.
“No matter what, what we have to do is partner with the mayor to make sure that this project is as competitive as possible because in the end one of the goals is to not only serve the citizens, but to be sure that we compete really well for that money in Washington, D.C.,” Roach said.