Transportation Advantages

Greater St. Louis’ central location is near the geographic center of the United States and closer than any other metropolitan area to the population center. The St. Louis, MO-IL MSA is within approximately 500 miles of one-third of the U.S. population and within 1,500 miles of 90 percent of the people in North America. This location at the intersection of many large national transportation routes of all types is a big part of what makes St. Louis “Perfectly Centered” and “Remarkably Connected.”

AIR

Lambert-St. Louis International Airport (1)

The St. Louis area’s main airport, Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, is a national hub with two terminals, five concourses, and 80 gates serving 10 airlines (2).Southwest Airlines has recently focused on St. Louis as a growth market. The following are recent volume statistics for the airport.

A $1 billion expansion project creating a new 9,000 foot runway, Runway 11-29, and improving capacity, was completed in 2006 and will minimize delays, particularly during inclement weather. The airport has started work on its $16.9 million “Airport Experience” renovation project for the main airport terminal. This update will improve the look and function of terminal including facility maintenance, in-bound baggage claim system, and improved signage. The airport has also started work on adding more local restaurants and vendors (3). In December 2009, Lambert announced a $40 million development agreement with Aeroterm to build new air cargo facilities on a 76-acre site and increase international trade efforts (4).

Conveniently located in the region, Lambert is 15 minutes from downtown St. Louis and has on-site access to the newly expanded MetroLink light rail system.

Air Carriers Serving Lambert-St. Louis International Airport Air Canada Great Lakes Air Choice One Midwest Connect AirTran Northwest American Southwest Cape Air United Continental USAirways Delta USA3000 Frontier   Source:"Air Carrier Information" Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, 2009.

MidAmerica Airport

MidAmerica Airport serves as the St. Louis Region’s second full service commercial airport and as a reliever to Lambert-St. Louis International Airport. Located in St. Clair County, IL, it provides state-of-the-art facilities for passengers, traffic, and cargo, including an adjacent 800-acre industrial park. It has a 10,000 foot and an 8,000 foot runway and serves cargo, commercial, and military flights.

Much of the area surrounding the airport is an Illinois Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District designed to help appropriate new businesses locate nearby and the airport is part of a Foreign Trade Zone. The MidAmerica Airport is 24 miles from downtown St. Louis, and is also served by MetroLink (5).

Other Airports

• Spirit of St. Louis Airport, the area’s largest regional airport, is in St. Louis County. It has recently renovated its main runway and parallel taxiways. The airport is home to over 500 aircraft and two full runways.

• Another large regional airport, St. Louis Downtown Airport, is just across the river from the City of St. Louis in Sauget, IL and provides quick access to the downtown area. It is located on a 1,013 acre site with an industrial-business park. The airport is owned by Metro which runs Greater St. Louis' bus and light rail commuter system.

• St. Louis Regional Airport is only 25 minutes from downtown St. Louis in East Alton, IL and serves a diverse clientele — from corporate aircraft and general aviators to the U.S. military and regional aircraft makers. At 2,300 acres, the airport is Illinois’ fourth largest, handling an average of 80,000 operations per year.

• Several other smaller regional airports are also just a quick commute from the downtown area.

Class 1 (7)

• Burlington Northern Santa Fe
• Canadian National Railway
• CSX
• Kansas City Southern
• Norfolk Southern
• Union Pacific

Short Lines

• Alton and Southern Railway
• Central Midland Railway
• Illinois Western Railway
• Manufacturers Railway Company
• Terminal Railroad

Passenger

• AmTrak
• MetroLink

INTERMODAL FACILITIES

St. Louis has state-of-art intermodal facilities providing many advantages to the freight transportation business, including reductions in cargo handling, improved security, reduced damages and loss, and allowing freight to be transported faster. The major intermodal facilities include:

• BNSF Intermodal
• CSX Intermodal
• Norfork Southern Intermodal
• Tri-City Regional Port District
• Triple Crown Services
• Union Pacific Intermodal

WATER

Situated at the confluence of the Mississippi, Missouri, and Illinois rivers, St. Louis is home to the nation’s second-largest inland port by trip ton-miles with over 24 billion trip ton-miles in 2007 (8). Our position as the northernmost year-round ice-free port increases our competitive advantage. The Tri-City Regional Port District is served by all major barge lines, offers more than 100 docks and terminal facilities, and connects St. Louis to industrial centers in 15 states located along the Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Illinois and Tennessee Rivers, the Great Lakes and the Gulf of Mexico. The port had over 27,000 each of inbound and outbound vessels with over 32 million short tons of freight traffic in 2007 (9).

Tri-City Regional Port District Statistics (10)

Size: Located on over 1,200 acres on the Mississippi River, the port offers intermodal resources not found in other U.S. markets with access to the River's Edge Business Park containing over 800 acres of space for distribution, warehousing and manufacturing.

Volume: The Tri-City Regional Port District serves approximately 2,500 barges annually and is served by all major barge lines.

Channel Depth: Depth varies between 10 and 45 feet, with an average depth of 32 feet.

Minimum Channel Width: 300 feet (91.4 meters)

Season: The port is the northernmost year-round ice free port on the inland waterway.

FOREIGN TRADE ZONES (11)

Greater St. Louis has two general purpose Foreign Trade Zones (FTZs) with multiple sites and seven special purpose sub-zones located conveniently close to truck, rail, barge, and air access.

1. Foreign Trade Zone No. 31 is a public/private sector venture operated by the Tri-City Regional Port District in Granite City, IL and includes six other general purpose sites with flexible warehouse/industrial space with excellent multi-modal transportation access. The sites are: 1. Tri-City Regional Port District (47 acres), 2. 1100 Niedringhaus Ave., Granite City, IL (209,000 sq. ft.), 3. 1000 and 2000 Access Rd., Madison, IL (122,600 sq. ft.), 4. Gateway Commerce Center, intersection of I-255 and I-270 in Madison County, IL (2,254 acres), 5. River’s Edge Industrial Park, 1635 W. First St., Granite City, IL (458 acres), and 6. MidAmerica Airport adjacent to Scott Air Force Base in St. Clair County (3,851 acres). FTZ 31 has three special purpose subzone sites.


2. Foreign Trade Zone No. 102 is situated next to I-70 near Lambert-St. Louis International Airport. It includes three general purpose sites: 1. Red Arrow Corporation warehouse and distribution facility (484,920 square feet) 2. NorthPark industrial park (492 acres), and 3. Three parcels a. Hazelwood Commerce Center (170 acres) b. Lindbergh Distribution Center (26 acres), and c. Airport Property No. 1 (76 acres). FTZ 102 has four special use subzones.

HIGHWAY

Four interstate highways intersect the St. Louis region.

• I-44
• I-55
• I-64
• I-70

Four interstate linkages provide further connections for St. Louis motorists.

• I-255
• I-170
• I-270
• I-370

The "Avenue of the Saints" highway from St. Louis to St. Paul, Minnesota was completed in July 2008 after 15 years of work. The 550 mile, four lane expressway "high-priority corridor" adds yet another major spoke to St. Louis' interstate transportation hub (12).

Interstate 64 Reconstruction (13)

The Missouri Department of Transportation recently finished a $535 million reconstruction of Interstate 64 in St. Louis County and the City of St. Louis which reopened in early December 2009. The project involved replacing aging bridges, improving flow, reducing noise, and improving safety through the upgrade of pavement, a new interstate to interstate connection between I-64 and I-170, the addition of traffic lanes, elimination of short entrance/exit ramps and merges, and enhancing safety with wider shoulders. The project spanned 10 miles from Kingshighway in the City of St. Louis to near I-270 in St. Louis County.

New Mississippi Bridge

In 2008, the states of Missouri and Illinois agreed on the construction of a new Mississippi River Bridge connecting to downtown St. Louis. The $640 million, 4-lane bridge will be a cable-stayed design carrying I-70 across the river and relieving traffic on the Poplar Street Bridge downtown which currently carries I-55, I-64, and I-70 traffic. Bridge construction should begin in 2010 and is expected to be completed in 2014 (14).

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION (15)

Metro operates the St. Louis Metropolitan region's public transportation system. The Metro System includes MetroLink, the region's light rail system; MetroBus, the region's bus system; and Metro Call-A-Ride, a paratransit van system. Metro carried over 53 million passengers on MetroLink, MetroBus, and Metro Call-A-Ride vans in 2009. Metro has a fleet of 411 MetroBus vehicles, 87 light rail vehicles and 136 Metro Call-A-Ride paratransit vans.

The Metrolink light rail commuter train system now emcompasses 46 miles of track, 37 stations, 19 park-ride lots with 10,000 parking spaces, and 87 vehicles.

Other systems linking up with Metro include Madison County Transit and St. Charles Area Transit System.

Sources:
(1) Lambert St. Louis International Airport, 2009.
(2) "Lambert Fact Information" Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, 2009.
(3) "Airport Experience: Priority Projects Push Ahead" in "Lambert Advantage" Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, Fall 2008.
(4) "Lambert to Add $40M in Air Cargo Facilities" St. Louis Business Journal, 2009.
(5) MidAmerica St. Louis Airport, 2006.
(6) "Railroads and States" Association of American Railroads, 2009.
(7) "Overview of U.S. Freight Railroads" Association of American Railroads, 2006.
(8) "Top 25 U.S. Inland Ports Ranked by CY2007 Trip Ton-Miles" U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Waterborne Commerce Statistics Center, 2009.
(9) "Waterborne Commerce of the United States, Calendar Year 2007, Part 2-Waterways and Harbors, Gulf Coast, Mississippi River System and Antilles" U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 2009.
(10) Tri-City Port District, 2009.
(11) "U.S. Foreign-Trade Zones" U.S. Department of Commerce, 2006. and Foreign Trade Zone Board notices in "Federal Register" U.S. Government Printing Office, 2009.
(12) "Route 61/27 Avenue of the Saints" Missouri Department of Transportation, 2009.
(13) "The New I-64" Missouri Department of Transportation, 2009.
(14) "The New Mississippi River Bridge Project" Missouri Department of Transportation, 2009.
(15) "Agency Overview" Metro, 2009.