St. Louis Regional Freightway Advances Bi-State Region

Re-Published With Permission From Construction News and Review

By Dennis Wilmsmeyer

When established in 2014, the St. Louis Regional Freightway was tasked with some specific goals.

Topping the list was enhancing and optimizing the region’s freight network while strengthening modal flexibility and raising awareness about the area’s global connectivity and ideal positioning for manufacturing and logistics businesses.

Fast forward to 2025, and the St. Louis Regional Freightway is doing exactly what was envisioned.

The work is being led by Mary Lamie, executive vice president of multimodal enterprises at Bi-State Development, which operates the St. Louis Regional Freightway. From day one, Lamie has served as a convener, establishing partnerships that bridge government boundaries, public and private sectors, various industries and all modes of transportation. Through its working committees that bring competing stakeholders to the table to collaborate, the St. Louis Regional Freightway is driving the influx of infrastructure investment in the region.

A key initiative is building consensus around priority freight infrastructure projects and advocating for the needed funding for these advancements. This effort is driving more federal funds to the region, thereby accelerating critical infrastructure improvements.

The recent completion of the first span of the new Interstate 270 Chain of Rocks Bridge is an excellent example. This project wasn’t planned for construction for several more years, yet MoDOT and IDOT worked together and programmed funds that fast-tracked this important freight and passenger link for our region. Both agencies actively participate in the freight development committee which creates the priority projects list for the region annually.

Another great example is the Merchants Bridge, one of only two rail crossings in the St. Louis area that handles traffic from all the Class I railroads. The reconstruction project stalled for years until the Merchants Bridge was identified as the St. Louis Regional Freightway’s top infrastructure project priority, even by barge operators who recognized that barge rates are contingent to competitive rail rates. This paved the way for the $222 million project to advance and be completed in September 2022.

The St. Louis Regional Freightway’s work building consensus for the region’s priority projects and advocating for funding is nationally recognized. It also has succeeded at promoting the region’s unparalleled freight assets and its ideal location at the nexus of the nation’s freight network.

The organization plays a critical role elevating the region’s status as a world-class logistics center and enhancing the overall perception of the St. Louis area nationally and globally. In recent years, thousands of articles have been secured in influential trade publications. These stories have highlighted the most efficient inland port in the nation and the Ag Coast of America, and spotlighted advancing projects, featured real estate sites, targeted industries thriving here, content from the annual FreightWeekSTL conference and more.

As a nearly lifelong resident of the St. Louis region, I am aware we tend to be our own worst critics. What most residents do not see is that St. Louis is a very big deal on the national and global scale in terms of freight, infrastructure and taking advantage of its natural assets and location. Thank you to the St. Louis Regional Freightway for strengthening our region’s position as a global freight hub. The word is spreading.

Dennis Wilmsmeyer is Executive Director of America’s Central Port.