ST. LOUIS – Jan. 25, 2012 - Key leaders presented the updated design plan for the transformation of the Gateway Arch grounds and its surroundings to the public today at the CityArchRiver 2015 Report to the Community. The project, which includes plans for both the Missouri and Illinois sides of the river, is designed to enhance the Arch experience for everyone by making the monument more accessible, safe and secure while providing more reasons for visitors and locals to enjoy, learn and linger. This will provide an enormous economic impact for the St. Louis region and provides a deserving environment for St. Louis’ calling card to the world, the Gateway Arch.

Since the last update to the community in January 2011, partners have added more detail to the design and initiated necessary permitting processes. The CityArchRiver Foundation has also secured funding from public and private sources to support site development.

“The work completed over the past year moves CityArchRiver 2015 forward,” said Walter Metcalfe, Jr., lead director of CityArchRiver 2015 Foundation. “What all of the stakeholders involved have accomplished to date proves that this project is not just an idea. It is real.”

Park over the Highway Moves Forward

In December, the US Department of Transportation announced a $20 million TIGER grant for work on the I-70 corridor connected to the CityArchRiver 2015 plan. With matches and other resources, $57.2 million has been secured for work on I-70 connections surrounding the Arch Grounds making it possible for a critical piece of the project—the park over the depressed lanes of I-70 between the Old Courthouse and the Arch grounds—to move forward.

“Visitors will now have a tree-lined green space to traverse between the Old Courthouse and the Arch without a stair step in their way,” said Ed Hassinger, St. Louis area district engineer for the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT). “Not a single stoplight or dangerous intersection will hinder visitors between Fourth Street in front of the Old Courthouse and the Arch Grounds.”

In his remarks to community members, Gullivar Shepard, associate principal for the lead design firm Michael Van Valkenburgh and Associates, identified the crucial role the park over I-70 has in achieving the project’s full potential.

“A park over the highway is probably the most important piece of the whole puzzle,” said Shepard.  “It is a great big move, which humanizes and strengthens the link between the city and the new Museum entry, and a central tenet of what the original Arch designers, Eero Saarinen and Dan Kiley, wanted to achieve. Following on this move, projects on the Arch Grounds, especially the reflecting ponds and north gateway landscapes, will also enhance the experience of the Arch grounds for everyone.”

Work on the park over the highway is already taking place. MoDOT has solicited engineering proposals and expects construction to be completed in connection with the new Mississippi River Bridge well in advance of October 2015.

Riverfront will become a Promenade of Activity

Great Rivers Greenway Executive Director Susan Trautman announced at the CityArchRiver Report to the Community that the organization has become a major partner in making the riverfront a promenade of activity and fun. This includes an expansion of the Riverfront between Biddle Street and Chouteau Avenue, ensuring a critical connection to the Confluence, Mississippi and Chouteau Greenways in the River Ring— bringing to life 1.5 miles of riverfront that is currently underutilized and often flooded during peak season.

“Great Rivers Greenway District’s involvement in the riverfront is an important step in delivering our mission of making St. Louis a better place to live for everyone,” said Trautman. “By energizing the riverfront between Chouteau Avenue and Biddle Street and raising Leonor K. Sullivan Boulevard to reduce flooding occurrences, we will provide a place that residents and visitors can gather and be active on a regular basis as well as connect to the existing trail system.”

Speakers at the Report to the Community were representative of the wide array of public and private organizations involved in the project. Deborah Patterson, president of the Monsanto Fund, served as host, while speakers included Metcalfe, Hassinger, Trautman, Shepard and Tom Bradley, park superintendent for the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial.

Bradley spoke about the importance of a public-private partnership to the project.

“This partnership between public and private entities is a good example of the passion of the St. Louis community, as well as the support of local, state and federal public agencies for making this project a reality,” said Bradley.

CityArchRiver 2015 Report to the Community will be Held January 25

Public event will provide an update on the effort to enhance the visitor experience at the Gateway Arch

What:  Project leaders will update the public on the design plan and next steps for CityArchRiver 2015, which will connect, invigorate and expand the Gateway Arch and its surroundings. Detailed plans for the park over I-70, Museum of Westward Expansion entrance, and new access for the I-70 corridor will be unveiled. This event is open to the public.

Where: Ferrara Theatre, America’s Center, Downtown St. Louis
Main entrance is on Washington Avenue at Eighth Street

When:  Wednesday, January 25
Doors open at 5:30 pm
6:00 – 7:15 pm – Public presentation, Ferrara Theatre
7:15  – 7:45 pm – Media Availability

Who:
Deborah Patterson, president, Monsanto Fund, and member of CityArchRiver 2015 Design Competition Board of Governors, M.C. for Report to the Community
Tom Bradley, superintendent, Jefferson National Expansion Memorial
Walter Metcalfe, Jr., lead director, CityArchRiver 2015 Foundation
Susan Trautman, executive director, Great Rivers Greenway
Michael Van Valkenburgh, president and CEO, Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates

Contact:          
Ryan McClure
Communications Director
CityArchRiver 2015 Foundation
314.744.9251
ryan.mcclure@cityarchriver.org