Transportation Advantages

Greater St. Louis’ central location is near the geographic center of the United States and is the closest large metropolitan area to the population center. The St. Louis, MO-IL MSA is within approximately 500 miles of one-third of the U.S. population and within 1,500 miles of 90 percent of the people in North America. This location at the intersection of many large national transportation routes of all types is a big part of what makes St. Louis “Perfectly Centered” and “Remarkably Connected."

AIR

Lambert-St. Louis International Airport (1)

The St. Louis area’s main airport, Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, is a national hub with two terminals, five concourses, and over 80 gates serving 13 airlines (2).  Southwest Airlines has recently focused on St. Louis as a growth market and with increased services, has surpassed American Airlines as the largest presence at the airport. The following are recent volume statistics for Lambert International.

A $1 billion expansion project creating a new 9,000 foot runway, Runway 11-29, and improving capacity, was completed in 2006 and minimizes delays, particularly during inclement weather. In 2008 the airport started work on its $70 million “Airport Experience” renovation project for the main terminal. This update will improve the look and function of terminal 1 including facility maintenance, in-bound baggage claim system, and improved signage. Phase II of the renovation began in early 2011 and the entire Airport Experience project is scheduled for completion by the end of 2012. When done it will be the largest interior renovation project in the airports' history (3). In 2011, the U.S. Transportation Secturity Administration awarded Lambert 'Airport of the Year' for safety (4).

Conveniently located in the region, Lambert is 15 minutes from downtown St. Louis and has on-site access to the newly expanded MetroLink light rail system.

Air Carriers Serving Lambert-St. Louis International Airport Air Canada Delta Air Choice One Frontier AirTran Southwest Alaska Airlines Vision American United Cape Air U.S. Airways Continental Source:"Air Carrier Information" Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, 2011.

MidAmerica Airport

MidAmerica Airport serves as the St. Louis Region’s second full service commercial airport and as a reliever to Lambert-St. Louis International Airport. Located in St. Clair County, IL, it provides state-of-the-art facilities for passengers, traffic, and cargo, including an adjacent 800-acre industrial park. It has a 10,000 foot and an 8,000 foot runway and serves cargo, commercial, and military flights. The airport will undergo a $2.24 million upgrade to expand the runway, allowing MidAmerica to handle four 747 cargo planes at once. (5) 

Much of the area surrounding the airport is an Illinois Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District designed to help appropriate new businesses locate nearby and the airport is part of a Foreign Trade Zone. The MidAmerica Airport is 24 miles from downtown St. Louis. (6)

Other Airports

• Spirit of St. Louis Airport, the area’s largest regional airport, is in St. Louis County. It has recently renovated its main runway and parallel taxiways. The airport is home to over 500 aircraft and two full runways.

• Another large regional airport, St. Louis Downtown Airport, is just across the river from the City of St. Louis in Sauget, IL and provides quick access to the downtown area. It is located on a 1,013 acre site with an industrial-business park. The airport is owned by Metro which runs Greater St. Louis' bus and light rail commuter system.

• St. Louis Regional Airport is only 25 minutes from downtown St. Louis in East Alton, IL and serves a diverse clientele — from corporate aircraft and general aviators to the U.S. military and regional aircraft makers. At 2,300 acres, the airport is Illinois’ fourth largest, handling an average of 80,000 operations per year.

• Several other smaller regional airports are also just a quick commute from the downtown area.

Class 1 (8)

• Burlington Northern Santa Fe
• Canadian National Railway
• CSX
• Kansas City Southern
• Norfolk Southern
• Union Pacific

Local

• Effingham Railroad
• Illinois Western Railway

• Central Midland Railway
• Missouri and Valley Park Railroad
• Terminal Railroad

Passenger

• AmTrak (daily service to Chicago, Dallas and Kansas City)
• MetroLink (light rail public transportation system)

INTERMODAL FACILITIES

St. Louis has state-of-art intermodal facilities providing many advantages to the freight transportation business, including reductions in cargo handling, improved security, reduced damages and loss, and allowing freight to be transported faster. The major intermodal facilities include:

• BNSF Intermodal
• CSX Intermodal
• Norfork Southern Intermodal
• America's Central Port District
• Triple Crown Services
• Union Pacific Intermodal

WATER

Situated at the confluence of the Mississippi, Missouri, and Illinois rivers, St. Louis is home to the nation’s third-largest inland port by tonnage with over 31 million short tons of freight traffic in 2009 (9). Greater St. Louis' location as the northernmost year-round ice-free port increases our competitive advantage. The Port of Metropolitan St. Louis is served by all major barge lines, offers more than 100 docks and terminal facilities, and connects St. Louis to industrial centers in 15 states located along the Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Illinois and Tennessee Rivers, the Great Lakes and the Gulf of Mexico.

America's Central Port Statistics (10)

Location: Across from the City of St. Louis on the Chain of Rocks Canal at Lock and Dam 27, the southernmost lock on the Mississippi.

Size: Located on over 1,200 acres on the Mississippi River, the port offers intermodal resources not found in other U.S. markets with access to the River's Edge Business Park containing over 840 acres of space for distribution, warehousing and manufacturing.

Volume: America's Central Port transfers in excess of 4 million tons of product annually between river barges, railcars and truck.

Channel Depth: Depth varies between 10 - 45 feet, with an average depth of 32 feet.

Minimum Channel Width: 300 feet (91.4 meters)

FOREIGN TRADE ZONES (11)

Greater St. Louis has over 10,000 acres of Foregin Trade Zone (FTZ) sites with two FTZs, including one covered by the new Alternative Site Framework program, with multiple sites and several special purpose sub-zones located conveniently close to truck, rail, barge, and air access.

1. Foreign Trade Zone No. 31 is a public/private sector venture operated by the America's Central Port District in Granite City, IL and includes five traditional general purpose sites with flexible warehouse/industrial space with excellent multi-modal transportation access. The sites are: 1. America's Central Port District (47 acres), 2. 1100 Niedringhaus Ave., Granite City, IL (209,000 sq. ft.), 3. 1000 and 2000 Access Rd., Madison, IL (122,600 sq. ft.), 4. Gateway Commerce Center, intersection of I-255 and I-270 in Madison County, IL (2,254 acres), 5. River’s Edge Industrial Park, 1635 W. First St., Granite City, IL (458 acres), and 6. MidAmerica Airport adjacent to Scott Air Force Base in St. Clair County (3,851 acres). FTZ 31 has three special purpose subzone sites.
2. Foreign Trade Zone No. 102 covers the City of St. Louis and St. Louis County and is operated by the St. Louis County Port Authority. It includes nine sites: 1. Metro International Trade Services at 3901 Union Boulevard in the City of St. Louis (484,920 sq.ft) including bonded warehouse space for foreign trade use, 2. NorthPark industrial park at the northeast corner of I-70 and I-170 (492 acres), 3. Hazelwood Commerce Center on Commerce Center Dr., Hazelwood, MO (170 acres), 4. Lindbergh Distribution Center at 5801 N. Lindbergh, Hazelwood, MO (26 acres), 5. Lambert Airport Property, 5260 Banshee Rd., St. Louis MO (76 acres), and 6-9. Sigma-Aldrich Chemical Company (82 acres). FTZ 102 also has defined three special purpose subzone sites (527 acres).

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HIGHWAY

Four interstate highways intersect the St. Louis region.

• I-44
• I-55
• I-64
• I-70

Four interstate linkages provide further connections for St. Louis motorists.

• I-255
• I-170
• I-270
• I-370

New Mississippi Bridge

Construction of the new Mississippi Bridge in downtown St. Louis is scheduled for completion in 2014. The $640 million, 4-lane bridge will be a cable-stayed design carrying I-70 across the river and relieving traffic on the Poplar Street Bridge downtown which currently carries I-55, I-64, and I-70 traffic. (12)

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PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION (13)

Metro operates the St. Louis Metropolitan region's public transportation system. The Metro System includes MetroLink, the region's light rail system; MetroBus, the region's bus system; and Metro Call-A-Ride, a paratransit van system. Metro carried over 40 million passengers on MetroLink, MetroBus, and Metro Call-A-Ride vans in 2011. Metro has a fleet of over 350 MetroBus vehicles, 80 light rail vehicles and 110 Metro Call-A-Ride paratransit vans.

The Metrolink light rail commuter train system now emcompasses 46 miles of track, 37 stations, 19 park-ride lots with 10,000 parking spaces. Other systems linking up with Metro include Madison County Transit and St. Charles Area Transit System.