Cross County MetroLink Extension

Where is the Cross County Line?

The Cross County MetroLink extension Segment 1 will be 8 miles in length with a redesigned Forest Park Station and nine new stations - two of which will have park-ride facilities. An additional 18,000 riders per day is forecast with the opening of this line. Here is a description of Segment 1.

The Cross County MetroLink extension begins at the existing Forest Park MetroLink Station. New stations along the extension will include Skinker, University City- Big Bend, Forsyth, Clayton, Richmond Heights, Brentwood I-64, Maplewood-Manchester, Sunnen and Shrewsbury-Lansdowne I-44. Addresses for the stations are following:

• Forest Park-DeBaliviere, 274 DeBaliviere Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63112
• Skinker, 260 North Skinker Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63112
• University City-Big Bend, 7000 Forest Park Parkway, St. Louis, MO. 63130
• Forsyth, 7411 Forsyth Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63105
• Clayton, 275 South Central Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63105
• Richmond Heights, 8001 Galleria Parkway, St. Louis, MO 63144
• Brentwood I-64, 8398 Eager Road, St. Louis, MO 63144
• Maplewood/Manchester Rd., 7911 Manchester Road, St. Louis, MO 63143
• Sunnen, 21 Sunnen Drive, St. Louis, MO 63143
• Shrewsbury/Lansdowne I-44, 7201 Lansdowne Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63119

The official groundbreaking was held in April 2003 a the site of the future Forsyth Station. Construction was bid out in 14 separate packages to allow local firms to compete on the projects. Construction photos can be viewed online at www.crosscounty.org. Photos below by Alan File, Metro, in May 2005..

The Metro Board of Commissioners approved a revised schedule, budget, and project management plan for the Cross County MetroLink Extension Project on March 18, 2005.

Metro is holding its former design and project management consultant, the Cross County Collaborative (CCC), responsible for incomplete design and the impact this has caused the project. He reported that Metro now estimates the final cost of the project to be between $646 million and $676 million.

Overruns and delays are also due to unforeseen conditions, late design changes made for MetroLink safety and operational concerns and response to community design preferences.

Metro's President and CEO said that the Agency expects to complete the Cross County MetroLink Extension ahead of the late January 2007 timeframe proposed by the CCC. "We expect to complete the Cross County MetroLink Extension between September 1, 2006 and October 31, 2006," Salci said. He added that "the project has no immediate cash flow problems as a result of these overruns."

Park-ride lots will be located at the Brentwood I-64 and Shrewsbury-Lansdowne 1-44 Stations. For more information on the Cross County Corridor expansion, visit www.crosscountymetro.org. A project hotline is available at 314.923.3050.

Where will the Cross County extension take us?

MetroLink is on the go in St. Louis. The Cross County MetroLink extension is the next leg set to open in the St. Louis region in early fall 2006.

Kayak's Coffee located at the future Skinker Station.

Did you know there will be 9 new stations that open new doors to communities in St. Louis County? Heading west from Downtown St. Louis, the first stop is the renovated Forest Park Station which will allow riders to choose to go north to the Airport or west to Clayton then south to Shrewsbury. The first stop on the new alignment is the Skinker Station where you can hop off the train to stop at Washington University, Kayak’s Coffee or take a quick walk to The Loop (a little more than four tenths of a mile from the station).

Next up is the University City-Big Bend Station on the western edge of the Washington University Hilltop Campus accessible to University City neighborhoods, Washington University and some local businesses. The next stop is the Forsyth Station with access to the Ritz Carlton, Bally Total Fitness, and the east end of Clayton with more development on the drawing boards. Next on the alignment will be the Clayton Station at Central Ave. in Downtown Clayton. It is a quick walk to the County Government Center or shops, restaurants or your office maybe in the heart of Clayton.

The Boulevard mixed-use development at the Richmond Heights Station that includes Crate & Barrel.

From there, the train will head south to the Richmond Heights Station with access to the Galleria, the Boulevard development with Crate & Barrel, Mangiano’s and much more. Next stop is the Brentwood I-64 Station with the Meridian Development and a parking garage if you are looking for a place to park and ride. The Meridian development currently includes Sports Authority and is working on a large expansion to include other retail and dining establishments. From there, the train will travel to Maplewood-Manchester Station and a short walk to the Maplewood Business District and then on to the Sunnen Station where the train services the Sunnen Business Park.

Maggiano's located at the Richmond Heights Station.

Finally the train crosses over I-44 to the Shrewsbury Station where there is access to both St. Louis City and County as well as a large park-ride lot. With this new extension, you may find yourself taking the train both ways for work in Downtown St. Louis, Clayton or Illinois or for play anywhere along the new alignment and the other two extensions – one to the Airport and one to Downtown St. Louis and on to Illinois.

The benefit of this extension is that MetroLink will now serve many areas in the central corridor. Many of the bus routes will be rerouted to feed directly into the new stations providing quick connections to areas such as Kirkwood, Webster Groves, Glendale and Shrewsbury. If you live anywhere near this new alignment, now is the time to find out all the opportunities that are going to be offered with the opening this fall.

Please note that we just wanted to provide a taste of what is within walking distance of the train. This is by no means a comprehensive list of destinations.

New transit oriented development is being planned by Maplewood and Sunnen as a part of the MetroLink extension.