|
St.
Clair County Extension
Go METRO! to St. Clair County,
IL.
MetroLink officially opened for revenue
service on May 7, 2001 to St. Clair County, IL. with record ridership.
The second leg to Shiloh-Scott opened on June 23 for regular service.
Open for
business:
The first phase
of the St. Clair County MetroLink extension from the 5th and Missouri
station to Southwestern Illinois College opened for revenue service
on May 7, 2001. Upon
opening of the extension, the MetroBus system was rerouted to feed
into the stations along the new alignment thus creating an integrated
system. The new MetroBus routes serve closer stations resulting
in a shorter bus ride to MetroLink.
Twenty four
new vehicles total were purchased for the extension. Throughout
the construction process in St. Clair County, officials listened
to feed back from residents affected by the construction.
Stations are
located at Emerson Park, JJK Center in East St. Louis, Washington
Park, Fairview Heights, Memorial Hospital, Swansea, Belleville and
College Station. The line links with the existing MetroLink line
at 5th & Missouri in East St. Louis. Each station has a park-ride
lot with the exception of the JJK station; totaling 3,500 commuter
spaces. For those driving to the stations, the St. Clair County
Transit District is recommending that commuters use the Emerson
Park, Washington Park and Fairview Heights Stations were there is
ample parking available.
|
College
Station
|
Emerson
Park Station
|
Convention
Center Station
|
Union
Station
|
|
6:16
a.m.
|
6:43
|
6:52
|
6:58
|
|
7:28
a.m.
|
7:55
|
8:04
|
8:10
|
|
7:50
a.m.
|
8:17
|
8:26
|
8:32
|
Wondering
how long it will take to travel from the College Station to Downtown
St. Louis. Here are some sample service times between the new stations
and the original alignment:
The 17.4 mile
extension utilizes both new right-of-way and abandoned CSX railroad
right-of-way. The total cost for the St. Clair County extension
is $339.2 million, under budget.
METROLINK
to SHILOH-SCOTT Opened in 2003
Phase 2 of
the St. Clair County MetroLink extension is scheduled to open for
passenger service on June 23, 2003. Phase 2 will extend 3.5 miles
from the College MetroLink station at Southwestern Illinois College
in Belleville to the Shiloh-Scott station. The Shiloh-Scott station
will serve Scott Air Force Base and eastern St. Clair County commuters.
Scott Air Force Base is the largest employer in Illinois south of
Springfield, and Shiloh is one of the fastest-growing communities
in the St. Louis metropolitan area.
The Shiloh-Scott
station will have two sections – one open to the general public,
and the other open to those with Scott Air Force Base security clearance.
The portion of the Shiloh-Scott station open to the general public
will have approximately 500 parking spaces. The Scott Air Force
Base side of the station will be secure and will have approximately
200 parking spaces. When the Shiloh-Scott station open, it will
be accompanied by a MetroBus network inside Scott Air Force Base
to shuttle people to and from the Shiloh-Scott station.
The total cost
for Phase 2 of the St. Clair County MetroLink Extension is $75 million.
Construction of Phase 2 is funded by a $60 million grant from the
Illinois FIRST (Fund for Infrastructure, Roads, Schools, and Transit)
program. The remaining $15 million is funded by the 1/2-cent sales
tax approved by voters in St. Clair County in November 1993.
For more information
on the St. Clair County Expansion plans, visit www.scctd.org.
|
