Completed $192 Million Extension Connects Metrolink to Mid-America Airport
Local and state officials celebrated Monday the completion of a $192 million transportation project connecting the MetroLink system to MidAmerica St. Louis Airport.
The project includes a 5.2-mile MetroLink extension from the Shiloh-Scott Transit Center to a new station across from the airport terminal and parking lot.
The extension is MetroLink’s 39th station and the system’s first full extension in two decades. It also gives the St. Louis region one of the nation’s few light-rail systems with direct connections to two airports.
The project included $154 million for the MetroLink extension, $32 million for roadway improvements and $6 million for a 4.5-mile extension of the MetroBikeLink Trail.
Funding included $127 million from the Rebuild Illinois Capital Program and $65 million from the St. Clair County Transit District.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker used the event to tout the $50 billion in Rebuild Illinois, which the General Assembly passed in 2019. He called it “one of the most comprehensive infrastructure plans in the entire nation,” and a driver for economic development.
“MetroLink has been one of the cornerstone of these efforts and embodies the cornerstone of what we set for Rebuild Illinois,” he said. “(It’s) a transformative investment that improves transportation options, it connects communities and employers and dramatically improves the quality of life for residents of the metro-east and, frankly, all of downstate.”
The roadway work includes a new 2.4-mile access road from Rieder Road to Airport Boulevard. The road connects to Interstate 64 and provides a new entrance to the airport. A one-third-mile extension of Rieder Road, from Wherry Road to Scott Air Force Base’s Cardinal Creek Gate, also was completed.
The MetroBikeLink Trail extension, which runs from the Shiloh-Scott Transit Center to near MidAmerica St. Louis Airport, opened in June.
“It’s a ride to a better job, it’s a new opportunity, it’s a plane for a business trip or just leisure travel,” Pritzker said. “These investments in MetroLink create a more connected network for people who ride transit or ride or walk or bike. Businesses, workers, families … anyone along this corridor benefit when transportation becomes easier and more reliable. It’s about making this region even more attractive for businesses and families. That is the vision behind Rebuild Illinois.”
St. Clair County Transit District Managing Director Ken Sharkey said connecting MidAmerica Airport to St. Louis Lambert International Airport and all points in between has been a goal of county leadership for decades, but lacked the funding.
In 2021, the state announced a grant toward the light rail extension, mostly through Pritzker’s Rebuild Illinois infrastructure initiative, approved by the state Legislature in 2019.
Completion was expected by 2024, but contractors were slowed by supply-chain and other issues, Sharkey said when construction actually begin in late 2023.
The project is one of several development projects around the metro-east airport. MidAmerica’s terminal nearly doubled in size after construction wrapped up in 2023. The project included a new taxiway that allows planes to travel from the base to the airport.
In September, the U.S. Navy placed an order with Boeing for the production of its first three MQ-25 Stingrays midair refueling drones, which have been under development at MidAmerica Airport since 2021. That order alone is worth $562 million.
As production ramps up, the Mascoutah facility will employ 300 people to produce an eventual fleet of 76 drones, according to previous BND reporting.
St. Clair County Board Chairman Mark Kern said the MetroLink expansion will foster more economic development across the region.
“This project is much more than a transit expansion,” he said. “It is an investment in our communities, workforce and future. By connecting MidAmerica St. Louis Airport, Scott Air Force Base, employers and neighborhoods to the region’s transit network, we are creating new opportunities for residents while positioning St. Clair County for continued economic growth.”
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