Transportation Secretary Buttigieg visits East St. Louis, announces funding for MetroLink
Secretary of Transportation Peter Buttigieg headlined a list of dignitaries in the metro-east Monday to announce nearly $28 million in disaster recovery funding for the MetroLink system in East St. Louis and St. Louis.
The disaster recovery funding announcement follows a $196 million Rail Vehicle Replacement Grant the United States Department of Transportation announced this June.
U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), along with U.S. Reps. Cori Bush (D-MO-01) and Nikki Budzinski (D-IL-13) joined Buttigieg at the press conference, which took place at the Emerson Park Station in East St. Louis.
“We believe in public transit,” Buttigieg said. “We recognize the importance of transit for making it possible for people to get through daily life. We know how much transit means to people and we know that this community has been through a lot.”
The grant will help the MetroLink system serving the St. Louis metropolitan region replace 48 light rail vehicles that have exceeded or are near the end of their useful life.
“MetroLink is growing because it is needed and it’s popular,” Durbin said. “There are very few things that unite this part of the world on both sides of the river and MetroLink is one of them. I’m proud to be part of it.”
The nearly $28 million in disaster recovery funding for MetroLink — introduced to the metro-east in 1993 and celebrating its 30th anniversary this year — comes from a 2022 appropriation for disaster relief pushed by Durbin.
“He is proud of East St. Louis and I know East St. Louis is very proud of him. And you should be. We’re so thankful for you,” Buttigieg said of Durbin.
The relief is part of $102.3 million in total funding for disaster recovery for transit agencies across the country and will support MetroLink’s recovery from major flooding caused by storms in July 2022. Following the flooding, 42 Metrobuses were used to provide emergency transportation for 23,000 riders. MetroLink experienced approximately $45 million in damages.
“Whether it’s to get to and from work or to access child care, our communities depend on the public transit system every single day,” Bush said. “Today I’m proud to celebrate the $196.3 million in transit funding afforded to Bi-State by the FTA (Federal Transit Administration). This very week just last year St. Louis got two months worth of rain in just six hours, leaving many of our neighborhoods under water.
“It devastated our community. Without access to public transportation, many people in our community were stuck for days. We’re not talking about a mere inconvenience; we’re talking about survival.”
The federal funding, supplied through Federal Transit Administration emergency relief funding as Bush noted, will go toward repairing the MetroLink public transit system following the severe flooding that caused two fatalities and damaged the transit system by destroying rail vehicles, two station elevators, and a signal house.
The extreme flooding also damaged five miles of light rail track bed and communications, signal, and fiber optics systems housed in two communications rooms and four signal houses.
“St. Louis’s success is our success,” Budzinski said. “It must be a regional approach and we are working together to do just that. Investments like the one we’re celebrating today aren’t just about upgrading railways or equipment, they’re about investing in our people, they’re about investing in our environment and our economy.”
More about relief funding
The Rail Vehicle Replacement Program was created by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to replace aging passenger railcars across the country, improving the reliability, safety, and accessibility of our nation’s rail transit systems.
The law invests $1.5 billion through 2026 for the Rail Vehicle Replacement Program.
Across the country this emergency relief funding will support 17 transit agencies in eight states and territories in their recovery from floods, hurricanes, and tornadoes that occurred in 2017 and 2022.
To date, the Biden-Harris administration has announced $4.9 billion for Illinois roads, bridges, roadway safety, and major projects.
“Now you will have newer, safer, faster trains to get you around the community for many years to come,” Buttigieg said. “The funding we’re announcing today will help 17 communities in eight states and territories rebuild and repair their transit system. As East St. Louis and communities all around this region and around this country are continuing to rebuild and recover, we want you to know we are with you every step of the way.”
This story was originally published July 31, 2023 at 8:18 PM.