The Eads Bridge is a combined road and railway bridge over the Mississippi River connecting the cities of St. Louis, Missouri, and East St. Louis, Illinois. It is located on the St. Louis riverfront between Laclede's Landing to the north, and the grounds of the Gateway Arch to the south. The bridge is named for its designer and builder, James Buchanan Eads. Work on the bridge began in 1867, and it was completed in 1874. The Eads Bridge was the first bridge across the Mississippi south of the Missouri River. Earlier bridges were located north of the Missouri, where the Mississippi is narrower. None of the earlier bridges survived, which means that the Eads Bridge is also the oldest bridge on the river.
MetroLink is a light rail system that serves the Greater St. Louis area. Operated by Metro Transit in a shared fare system with MetroBus, the two-line, 38-station system runs from St. Louis Lambert International Airport and Shrewsbury in Missouri to Scott Air Force Base in Illinois. Intermediate destinations include downtown Clayton, Forest Park, and downtown St. Louis. It is the only U.S. light rail system that crosses state lines.
Laclede's Landing, colloquially "the Landing", is a small urban historic district in St. Louis, Missouri. It marks the northern part of the original settlement founded by the Frenchman Pierre Laclède, whose landing on the riverside the placename commemorates. Originally he tasked his 14-year-old stepson, Auguste Chouteau, with the task of preparing the land that sat 10 miles south of the Mississippi-Missouri area. A stone house was erected and named Laclede's home in the village he named "St. Louis" as a homage to King Louis IX of France. Initially, fur trade and trapping was the economic interest that would spark Pierre's interest in using the landing and making his stepson the richest citizen. The area is now decorated with 19th century warehouses and other period buildings.
The Metro East is an urban area in Southern Illinois, United States that contains the eastern and northern urban, suburban, and exurban areas on the Mississippi River in Greater St. Louis. It encompasses eight Illinois counties and constitutes the second-most populous metropolitan area in Illinois.
Metro Transit is an enterprise of the Bi-State Development Agency and operates public transportation services in the St. Louis region. In 2023, the system had an annual ridership of 19,528,200, or about 64,600 per weekday as of the third quarter of 2024.
Rock Road station is a light rail station on the Red Line of the St. Louis MetroLink system. This at-grade station primarily serves commuters with a large MetroBus transfer and 191 park and ride spaces located in Pagedale, Missouri. The station's name comes from nearby St. Charles Rock Road, an important east–west artery in St. Louis County.
8th & Pine station is a light rail station on the Red and Blue lines of the St. Louis MetroLink system. This subway station is located beneath the intersection of 8th and Pine streets in St. Louis' Central Business District.
Convention Center station is a light rail station on the Red and Blue lines of the St. Louis MetroLink system. This subway station is located beneath the intersection of 6th Street and Washington Avenue in St. Louis' Central Business District.
Laclede's Landing station is a light rail station on the Red and Blue lines of the St. Louis MetroLink system. This elevated station is located in downtown St. Louis near Laclede's Landing.
Transportation in Greater St. Louis, Missouri includes road, rail, ship, and air transportation modes connecting the bi-state St. Louis metropolitan area with surrounding communities throughout the Midwest, national transportation networks, and international locations. The Greater St. Louis region also supports a multi-modal transportation network that includes bus, paratransit, and light rail service in addition to shared-use paths, bike lanes and greenways.
Swansea station is a light rail station on the Red Line of the St. Louis MetroLink system. This at-grade station is located in Swansea, Illinois between Illinois State Routes 159 and 161. It is primarily a commuter station with 751 park and ride spaces and MetroBus service.
5th & Missouri station is a light rail station on the Red and Blue lines of the St. Louis MetroLink system. This at-grade station is located in the former 5th Street right-of-way between Broadway and Missouri Avenue in downtown East St. Louis, Illinois.
Emerson Park station is a light rail station on the Red and Blue lines of the St. Louis MetroLink system. This at-grade station is located near 15th Street and Bowman Avenue in East St. Louis, Illinois. It also serves as a transfer for MetroBus and Madison County Transit and features 841 park and ride spaces.
Washington Park station is a light rail station on the Red and Blue lines of the St. Louis MetroLink system. This at-grade station is located on the city limit line between East St. Louis, Illinois and Washington Park, Illinois.
Fairview Heights station is a light rail station on the Red and Blue lines of the St. Louis MetroLink system. This at-grade station is located on the western edge of Fairview Heights, Illinois near the intersection of St. Clair Avenue and Illinois Route 161. It is the eastern terminus of the Blue Line and has a pocket track allowing Blue Line trains to reverse directions and layover between runs.
The Red Line is the older and longer line of the MetroLink light rail system in Greater St. Louis. It serves 29 stations across three counties and two states.
The Blue Line is the newer and shorter line of the MetroLink light rail service in Greater St. Louis. It serves 25 stations across three counties and two states.
The Bi-State Development Agency is an interstate compact established between Missouri and Illinois in 1949. This compact created an organization that has broad powers in seven county-level jurisdictions. Bi-State operates five enterprises, including the Gateway Arch Riverfront, Metro Transit, the St. Louis Downtown Airport, the St. Louis Regional Freightway and the Bi-State Development Research Institute.
The Downtown Tunnel, sometimes referred to as the St. Louis Freight Tunnel, is a historic railroad tunnel beneath Washington Avenue and Eighth Street in downtown St. Louis. Completed in 1874, it carried freight and passenger trains between the Eads Bridge and the rail yards in the Mill Creek Valley, bypassing busy downtown streets. It closed in 1974 and sat dormant for nearly two decades before its rehabilitation in 1993 for use by MetroLink, the light rail system in Greater St. Louis.
