Transportation in St facts for kids
Transportation in St. Louis, Missouri helps people and goods move around the city. It connects St. Louis with nearby towns, other parts of the United States, and even places around the world. The city uses different ways to travel, like roads for cars and trucks, railways for trains, rivers for boats, and airports for planes. St. Louis also has a public transportation system with buses and light rail trains.
Contents
Roads and Highways
St. Louis has four main highways called interstates. These highways connect to a bigger road system in the area.
- Interstate 70 goes from west to east, running through the northern part of the city to downtown.
- Interstate 55 runs north and south. It enters the city from the south and heads towards the center.
- Interstate 64 and Interstate 44 both come into the city from the west and run side-by-side towards the east.
Two of these interstates (I-55 and I-64) join together south of the Gateway Arch National Park and cross into Illinois using the Poplar Street Bridge. Interstate 70 crosses into Illinois on the new Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge, which is north of downtown. Interstate 44 ends near this new bridge.
St. Louis also has other important roads. Memorial Drive runs north-south next to the Gateway Arch. Grand Boulevard and Jefferson Avenue also run north-south through the whole city. Gravois Road goes from the southeast part of the city to downtown. It used to be part of the famous U.S. Route 66. Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive is an east-west road that connects the western edge of the city to downtown.
River Transport
River transportation is a big part of St. Louis. The Port of St. Louis is a busy area along the Mississippi River. It stretches for about 19 miles and handles over 32 million tons of goods every year. This makes it one of the largest inland ports in the United States. The port has over 100 places for barges to dock and 16 public areas for loading and unloading. Barges are flat-bottomed boats used to carry heavy goods like grain or coal. The Port Authority also added new fire and rescue boats in 2012 and 2013 to help keep the river safe.
Light Rail and Public Transit
St. Louis has a light rail system called MetroLink. It has two lines that use the same stations within the city. Outside the city, they split off to different places. The trains run on their own special tracks, sometimes above ground and sometimes in underground tunnels. All stations let you enter easily, and the platforms are level with the trains for easy boarding.
The MetroLink system is run by the Bi-State Development Agency, also known as Metro. This agency gets money from sales taxes in the city and nearby counties. The Gateway Multimodal Transportation Center is a main station in downtown St. Louis. It connects the light rail, local buses, passenger trains, and national bus services all in one place.
Airports
St. Louis Lambert International Airport is the biggest and busiest airport in Missouri. The City of St. Louis owns and runs it. The airport is about 11 miles northwest of downtown St. Louis, near Interstate 70. In 2011, about 13 million passengers used the airport. There were also 255 flights leaving each day to about 90 different places, both in the U.S. and other countries.
Lambert Airport is an important place for Southwest Airlines. It used to be a major hub for Trans World Airlines and a focus city for American Airlines. Besides Lambert, other nearby airports like MidAmerica St. Louis Airport, Spirit of St. Louis Airport, and St. Louis Downtown Airport also handle air cargo, which means they transport goods by plane.
Railroad Service
Passenger Trains
Amtrak provides train service for people traveling long distances or for daily commutes. All Amtrak trains in St. Louis use the Gateway Multimodal Transportation Center downtown.
- The Lincoln Service train goes from St. Louis to Chicago, Illinois.
- The Missouri River Runner goes from St. Louis to Kansas City, Missouri.
- The Texas Eagle is a long-distance train that stops in St. Louis. It travels between San Antonio, Texas and Chicago, Illinois.
Freight Trains
St. Louis is a very important place for freight trains. It's the third-largest rail hub in the country. This means a lot of goods move through St. Louis by train. These goods include things like grain, gravel, food, oils, minerals, alcohol, tobacco, cars, and car parts.
Several railroad companies provide freight service in St. Louis. These include Union Pacific, Norfolk Southern, Foster Townsend Rail Logistics, Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis, and the BNSF Railway.
The Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis (TRRA) is a special company owned by all the big rail carriers in St. Louis. It helps move railcars around the city's train yards, delivers them to local businesses, and gets trains ready to leave. The TRRA uses 30 diesel-electric locomotives (train engines) to do this work. It also owns and operates important rail bridges and tunnels, like the MacArthur Bridge (St. Louis) and the Merchants Bridge. These bridges and tunnels are also used by passenger trains.
Many large train yards are located in St. Louis. These yards are where freight trains are sorted and put together. Some of the main yards include:
- Union Pacific's Lesperance Yard and 12th Street Yard.
- Norfolk Southern's Luther Yard.
- Foster Townsend Rail Logistics' River Yard, which serves the Anheuser-Busch Brewery.
- BNSF Railway's Lindenwood Yard, Chouteau Yard, and North St. Louis Yard.
Bus Service
Local bus service in St. Louis is provided by the Bi-State Development Agency through MetroBus. There are more than 75 bus routes that connect to the MetroLink train system and other stops throughout the city and region. Madison County Transit also provides bus service, connecting downtown St. Louis to Madison County in Illinois.
For longer trips, national bus services are available. Greyhound Lines and Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach have a station at the Gateway Multimodal Transportation Center. Megabus also has a stop at St. Louis Union Station.
Taxicab Service
Taxicab service in St. Louis is provided by private companies. These companies are regulated by the Metropolitan Taxicab Commission. The cost of a taxi ride can change based on the type of car, its size, how many people are riding, and the distance traveled. All taxi fares must be figured out using a taximeter, which is a device that calculates the fare. You can pay for a taxi with cash or a credit card. Drivers are not allowed to ask for customers directly, but you can wave down a taxi on the street or find one at a taxi stand.
