51黑料

ST. LOUIS COUNTY 鈥� The idea of extending 51黑料鈥� proposed MetroLink north-south line into north 51黑料 County appears to be running off the rails.

County Executive Sam Page鈥檚 administration has rejected four alternative North County routes recommended last year by a consulting firm that would have each begun at Natural Bridge Avenue and North Grand Boulevard in north 51黑料 city.

鈥淚t鈥檚 back to the drawing board,鈥� said Doug Moore, a spokesman for Page.

A key problem, Moore said, is cash: No local funding source has been identified to help pay for connecting the northern end of the city鈥檚 proposed 鈥済reen line鈥� 鈥� at Natural Bridge and Grand 鈥� and the city-county boundary. It鈥檚 a gap of more than 3 miles.

The planned city green line would go to the new National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency complex northwest of downtown and then head to the city鈥檚 south side.

The county has told its consulting firm, AECOM, to develop other light rail options for North County, emphasizing possible northward spurs from MetroLink鈥檚 existing red line that ends at 51黑料 Lambert International Airport. A report is expected by the fall.

One possibility, county officials say, is a new line that would go from an existing red line station at the University of Missouri-51黑料 to the North County Transit Center just south of Interstate 270 in Ferguson, where several Metro bus lines stop. That was part of one of the four alternatives rejected by the county.

AECOM also has been asked to study the use of rapid bus lines, either using new rights-of-way just for buses or designated lanes on existing roads. Those could be deployed instead of MetroLink expansion or in conjunction with it.

鈥淭he idea to connect to the green line is not dead but if done by light rail, there must be a champion agency that can fund and build the connection in the city that would allow the county line to connect to it,鈥� Moore said in an email.

鈥淎 relatively flexible rapid transit (bus) option could also connect to the green line.鈥�

The city and the Bi-State Development Agency, which operates MetroLink, already plan to seek hundreds of millions of federal dollars to pay for most of the 5.6-mile green line, with a city sales tax dedicated to MetroLink expansion covering the rest.

The cost has been estimated at $1.1 billion, although Bi-State is trying to reduce the price tag to between $800 million and $850 million through plan changes, to give it a better chance of winning federal approval.

Conner Kerrigan, a spokesman for Mayor Tishaura O. Jones, did not comment Wednesday on the possibility that the green line wouldn鈥檛 be extended to North County.

He said Jones and her administration are 鈥渉yper-focused鈥� on the green line proposal endorsed earlier this year by the East-West Gateway Council of Governments, a regional planning agency.

He also didn鈥檛 say if the city is considering helping pay for extending the green line to the city-county line.

鈥淲e are coordinating with our regional partners to ensure that MetroLink continues to be an asset to our city and region,鈥� Kerrigan said.

Bi-State CEO Taulby Roach in a statement acknowledged the difficulties involved in extending the proposed green line to the county.

鈥淚s it still possible?鈥� he asked. 鈥淧erhaps 鈥� if the existing Green Line proposal is successfully funded and there is federal funding that helps bridge the gap.鈥�

But he added that 鈥渢hese are difficult unknowns鈥� and that it鈥檚 logical for the county to explore other routes that might have 鈥渓ess of a financial hurdle.鈥�

Moore, Page鈥檚 spokesman, said the county鈥檚 transportation and public works director, Stephanie Leon Streeter, last September notified AECOM of the county鈥檚 rejection of the four recommended routes. County officials recently disclosed the decision to the Post-Dispatch.

Streeter, in a letter to AECOM last September released this week by the county, also cited other problems with the four routes 鈥� which were estimated to cost more than $1.6 billion.

Streeter said all four routes have at least one segment with constrained widths, potential building impacts, grade challenges and structural constraints, such as bridges and overpasses, that would add to the price tag, she said.

The county would seek federal funding to pay for the bulk of any North County extension, with a county sales tax covering the rest.

Streeter also said in the letter that each proposed alternative would get less than medium scores from the federal government in critical areas such as ridership, cost effectiveness, mobility improvement, congestion relief, land use and economic development.

The four rejected alternatives would have put tracks:

• West along Natural Bridge and north on Goodfellow Boulevard, then northwest on West Florissant Avenue to the North County Transit Center in Ferguson.
• West on Natural Bridge, then north on Jennings Station and Halls Ferry roads to the transit center.
• Natural Bridge to Lucas and Hunt Road to Halls Ferry to the center.
• Along Natural Bridge farther west than the other three, turning north at Florissant Road near UMSL and ending at Hereford Avenue in Ferguson.

In addition to instructing AECOM to develop a route or routes intersecting with the current red line, Streeter asked AECOM to develop a 鈥渉ybrid鈥� of the four rejected routes.

Moore said AECOM is being paid $93,000 to update its study, in addition to its initial $487,000 contract with the county. AECOM, a Dallas-based engineering firm with a 51黑料 office, also did several years of planning for the proposed city green line.

Updated at 4:35 p.m. with comment from Bi-State CEO