Letter to the Hon. Elaine Chao, Secretary of Transportation - Bost Leads Regional Effort to Secure Merchants Bridge Funding

Letter

Dear Secretary Chao:

We write in support of an application by the Bi-State Development Agency of the Missouri-Illinois Metropolitan District for a $35 million grant through the United States Department of Transportation's Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) program to help fund the rehabilitation of the Merchants Bridge across the Mississippi River. Your consideration of this application is greatly appreciated.

The 129 year-old Merchants Bridge and the 106 year-old MacArthur Bridge are the most heavily used Mississippi River rail crossings in the United States. The Merchants Bridge supports six Class I railroad carriers, the Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis, and Amtrak passenger service. St. Louis is the country's 3rd largest railroad hub and 3rd largest inland port, serving two airports (Lambert International in St. Louis and MidAmerica St. Louis Airport in Illinois) and linking four interstate highways (I-70, I-64, I-55, and I-44). Reconstruction of the bridge will improve transportation efficiency and safety across all of these nodes. It should be noted this critical bridge may go out of service in less than 10 years under a no-build scenario.

The $214.2 million public-private partnership (P3) Merchants Bridge replacement includes the replacement of the main spans, reconstructing the east approach in Illinois, and seismically retrofitting the river piers to provide greater reliability for passenger rail. Overall, the P3 leverages nearly 84 percent in private funds with INFRA funds to produce a 1.73 Benefit Cost Ratio under United States Department of Transportation metrics.

With the USDOT estimating a 2.5 times increase in the demand for freight and passenger rail transportation, it is essential that the Chicago-St. Louis corridor operate at the highest level of efficiency. Merchants Bridge is a key asset in this endeavor. In addition, by seismically retrofitting the supporting piers, the project will significantly increase the resiliency of the nation's rail network.