This article originally ran in Site Selection Magazine in July 2022.
Sometime later this year, a century-old rail bridge that crosses the Mississippi River at St. Louis is expected to reopen after a four-year transformation. Originally opened in 1899, the Merchants Bridge is a key link in one of the primary East-West rail corridors in the country, leading into and out of the nation’s second-largest freight rail interchange. Antiquated as the structure had become, it could support but a single train at once, thus creating bottlenecks on both the Missouri and Illinois sides of the Mississippi. By restoring Merchants Bridge to full viability, the $222 million project will essentially double its capacity.
“It’s a big win for the St. Louis area, but also for the national supply chain,” says Mary Lamie, executive of St Louis Regional Freightway. The new Merchants Bridge, she says, “will increase our ability to take on more freight and bolster our ability to serve as an alternative during supply chain disruptions.”
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