Federal government announces $27.6 million investment going to MetroLink

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KMOV) - St. Louis City Mayor Tishaura Jones was joined by other Missouri and Illinois political leaders in welcoming Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to the region on the 30th anniversary of MetroLink.

Buttigieg announced $27.6 million in DOT federal funding for MetroLink through the Federal Transit Administration emergency relief funding. This funding will go toward repairing MetroLink following severe flooding from July 2022 that damaged MetroLink’s transit system.

“Last summer, the Metro-East tragically experienced severe flooding that destroyed essential components of the public transit system that Illinoisans rely on to travel around the St. Louis region. I fought to ensure that MetroLink would have access to the necessary federal emergency relief funding to rebuild and continue to serve its riders,” said U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL). “I’m grateful that my colleagues and I’s efforts yielded $28 million in federal funding to address the damages. With this federal support, MetroLink will bounce back.”

On July 31, 1993, the MetroLink transit system debuted. Many of the cars are still in operation, exceeding their life span. That’s why the federal government announced this spring they will invest $196 million in MetroLink for dozens of new light rail vehicles.

The additional $27 million announced on Monday will go toward fixing the damages of last year’s catastrophic floods.

“As leaders, that includes doing something about it,” said Buttigieg. “In terms of transit, that means support rebuilding efforts, and it means infrastructure that can withstand the extreme weather that’s coming more frequently.”

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