Greater St. Louis is playing logistics chess, not checkers like many others.
And while not a grandmaster yet, the region - bolstered by geographic gifts as well as world-class rail, barge and road networks - continues to score federal infrastructure dollars to improve on its substantial foundation.
“The committee members work together to set infrastructure priorities by having private sector leaders help public sector leaders understand how infrastructure and efficiency impact on-time delivery and costs. This innovative and collaborative approach to compile and build consensus for the Priority Projects List has garnered national recognition,” she said.
“The process helps to ensure public officials responsible for infrastructure investment understand the needs of the manufacturing and logistics industries. The barge industry ranked the Merchants Bridge project as one of its highest priority projects indicating barge rates are contingent to competitive rail rates. The committee speaks with one voice to ensure all necessary parties are familiar with the region’s infrastructure priorities, understand why they are priorities and collectively advocate for funding for them.” Lamie said. “As one example, when Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis (TRRA) applied for federal funding for the replacement of the Merchants Bridge over the Mississippi River in downtown St. Louis, after years of regional support, the importance of the bridge to the nation’s supply chain had already been established.”
Lamie likes to use the term “optionality” to describe what pushes St. Louis ahead of other North American regions. She then ticks off the region’s selling points:
- Six Class 1 railroads that converge in one of the highest volume rail hubs in the country
- Four interstates with low rates of congestion that are in one-day drive or less to major Midwestern and Southern cities
- The most efficient inland port in the nation that also is the northernmost ice-free, lock-free port on the Mississippi River
- Two international cargo airports (St. Louis-Lambert International Airport and MidAmerica St. Louis Airport) with Foreign Trade Zones and Enterprise Zones
A Cache of Developable Land
“This modal optionality gives shippers the flexibility to choose a mode of transportation based on reliability, cost-effectiveness, and efficiency. Having access to multiple modes of transportation helps reduce risk and maintain continuity during supply chain disruptions,” Lamie said.
The St. Louis Regional Freightway recently announced its 2026 Project Priority List which includes 29 projects totaling nearly $8.9 billion. As of May 2024, more than $560 million in projects on the annual rolling list had been completed and more $2.6 billion in funding had been allocated for additional projects, with many of those under construction or soon to be.
The list underscores the top infrastructure needs of manufacturing and logistics industries in Eastern Missouri and Southwestern Illinois. The MacArthur Bridge, the Illinois Route 3 Connector, and TRRA’s Multimodal Freight Yard expansion are key projects.
In addition, the Interstate 270 (I-270) Chain of Rocks Bridge currently under construction remains a top concern. Funded at $496 million, this joint project between IDOT and MoDOT is replacing the existing structure and expanding it from four lanes to six lanes with shoulders and also includes reconstruction of the Riverview Interchange on the Missouri side of the Mississippi River.
“It is important to note that this is a key segment in the 24-mile, I-270 corridor stretching from Interstate 70 in Missouri to IL Rte. 157 – one of the most important regional freight corridors,” said Lora Rensing, Director of Highways Project Implementation and Chief Engineer for IDOT. “It is on track for completion around the end of 2025.”
She highlighted the IL Rte. 3 Relocation project, a $305.5 million investment for four lanes from the River Park Connector to Monsanto Ave. The project, which is funded, will decrease congestion, improve safety, address clearance issues, and better accommodate truck and freight movements. She also touched on the significance of the Illinois Route 3 Connector project, which aims to improve traffic flow, travel time consistency and network connectivity.
The $102 million project is funded and features new construction of 1.4 miles from Collinsville Rd. to IL Rte. 3/203. Its goals also include improving accessibility within the project area and eliminating reliance on arterial local roads. The final project on the Priority Project List that Rensing discussed was the I-255/Davis Street Ferry Road Interchange. The $121.4 million project, which is currently only partially funded, will create a new interchange and connecting roadways near the Union Pacific Intermodal Yard.
MoDOT District Engineer Tom Blair detailed the nearly $1.2 billion investment being made on I-70 from Warrenton to the Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge. He said the stretch from Warrenton to Wentzville is under construction, and at $634 million, it is the largest single project in MoDOT’s history. He also shared details of a project new to the Priority Projects List for this year – Interstate 44 Improvements from the Oklahoma State Line through Franklin County, Mo. The project includes an estimated $200 million in partially funded improvements to I-44 in the St. Louis region. He noted that I-44 actually carries more freight than I-70, underscoring the importance of the project.
The 2026 Priority Projects reveal came at the annual FreightWeekSTL in early June. For the 7th consecutive year, Lamie said the event delivered a week full of engaging conversations on innovation, investments and collaboration, with much of the discussion reinforcing the St. Louis region’s continuing role as a global logistics hub.
Among the highlights from this year’s conference:
Ingram Marine Group’s plan to invest $50 million in its St. Louis area facilities over the next three years
Details about American Foods Group’s recently opened $800 million beef processing plant in Warren County that will employ 1,300 workers once it reaches full capacity
St. Louis Regional Freightway’s strategic approach to marketing industrial real estate sites, which helped attract Avina Clean Hydrogen’s planned $820 million investment in a sustainable aviation fuel facility
Release of the 2025 St. Louis Regional Industrial Real Estate Market Indicators & Workforce Statistics Report, which reported from 2020 to 2025, the GDP of the region’s manufacturing and distribution industries grew by 33 percent
Gia Biagi, newly confirmed Secretary of IDOT, delivered a compelling keynote that emphasized the importance of infrastructure investment and cross-border collaboration. Her remarks were complemented by a video address from Ed Hassinger, Director MoDOT, who discussed bi-state cooperation
Earlier this year, data from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) ranked the St. Louis region as the most efficient inland port district in the United States and Lamie said the USACE designation only confirms the St. Louis region is home to the most efficient inland port district in the nation based on tons moved per river mile in 2022, the most recent year numbers are available.
In 2022, the St. Louis region’s barge industry handled 369,309 tons per mile, according to the data, while the average tons per mile across the other eight inland port districts was 92,863. Essentially, the St. Louis Metro Ports collectively moved almost four times the average tons per mile, as compared to the other eight inland port districts in the U.S.
“Efficiency of this nature is important to shippers looking for the most efficient and affordable way to move goods,” Lamie said.
Dan Lester, SVP, Business Development for the Infrastructure Group at Ingram Marine, said that efficiency is increasingly important in today’s environment when barges are very expensive to build, and the number of existing barges being retired continues to increase. Ingram operates eight facilities along the Missouri and Illinois banks of the Mississippi River in the St. Louis region.
“How do you increase capacity without spending additional capital? You move to the more efficient operations like St. Louis. For us to be able to operate efficiently and create more capacity for our customers, we want to see product moving to areas where we can get them to a dock, unloaded and reloaded as quickly as possible,” said Lester. “The value of the St. Louis region is based on efficiency. When you combine that with the infrastructure improvements we’re doing on our docks, it creates great opportunities for all shippers either north bound to St. Louis or south to the Gulf. Add in the fact that 35 barge tows can go all the way from the Gulf to St. Louis, and it’s clear that this route is the best option. Our ports are leaders in the movement of agricultural products.”
