Metro, the St. Louis rail transit operator, has announced that construction has started on the Cortex MetroLink Station, the first new MetroLink station to be added to the region’s light rail system in more than a decade. The station will be located in the central corridor of St. Louis on the current MetroLink alignment between the Central West End and Grand MetroLink Stations. It has an expected completion date of 2018.
The first contracts for the station were awarded to L. Keeley Construction, who will conduct electrical, plumbing, structure, sidewalks, benches and other facility work, and Wissehr Electrical Contractors, who will be responsible for signal systems work. Crews are now performing sewer work and preliminary electrical work on the site, including directional boring and conduit installation.
Metro is currently in the process of selecting two additional contractors for other aspects of the station project, including track work and communications.
Primary funding for the Cortex MetroLink Station project is provided from a $10.3 million Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation. The project cost is also supported by funds from a public-private partnership.