Major contracts let for St. Louis CityArchRiver projects

In Spring 2012 the Missouri General Assembly approved a major extension to the Great Rivers Greenway district to allow for connection of the St. Louis Arch grounds to downtown St. Louis and make pedestrian and bicycle connections, expand park areas in the downtown area, and double the amount of funding devoted to building out Great Rivers Greenway's River Ring system of regional trails and bikeways.

Then in Spring 2013 the CityArchRiver proposal passed a vote of the people in St. Louis City and St. Louis County.

Recently some of the major contracts to start work on the project were announced.  The St. Louis American covered the story:

Great Rivers Greenway approved $23 million in construction contracts for seven local firms on the CityArchRiver 2015 project last week. The contracts are part of the Central Riverfront portion of the Gateway Arch project, which will improve access and prevent flooding on the riverfront.

For the Central Riverfront contracts, 31.8 percent of the work went to minority business enterprises (MBE) and 18.7 percent went to women business enterprises (WBE), for a total of 50.5 percent disadvantaged business enterprise (DBE) participation, which exceeds the DBE goals established for the project.

“We are thrilled these qualified firms were interested in helping us and CityArchRiver 2015 fulfill our mission, and we look forward to working with them,” said Susan Trautman, executive director of Great Rivers Greenway.

The Central Riverfront project – the second component of the CityArchRiver 2015 initiative to break ground – will improve the safety and accessibility of the Mississippi Riverfront and Gateway Arch grounds. Leonor K. Sullivan Boulevard will be transformed into an enhanced 1.5-mile-long corridor with more plantings, lighting and a separated bike lane and pedestrian walkway that will connect into Great Rivers Greenway’s system of trails, parks and greenways. The project also includes elevating Leonor K. Sullivan further above the Mississippi River floodplain to help reduce flooding.

The work on the $33 million project was split up into 10 project packages to encourage local companies to bid and to help keep the work in the region, said Great Rivers Greenway leaders. More than $23 million of the contracts were awarded to St. Louis companies.

MoBikeFed's Vision for Bicycling and Walking in Missouri envisions the creation of a world-class, connected, and safe bicycle, pedestrian, and trails system across the state and in every community.  MoBikeFed helped support the CityArchRiver project in the Missouri General Assembly in 2012 and when it came before St. Louis area voters in spring 2013. Your membership and support help us have the capacity to support projects like this from the statewide perspective, and to turn our Vision into reality!