MetroLink Extension to MidAmerica St. Louis Airport Completes Construction at $192M

Construction has finished on a $192 million multimodal package that extends the MetroLink light rail system to MidAmerica St. Louis Airport in Mascoutah, Illinois. The project has three parts: a $154 million, 5.2-mile rail extension from the Shiloh-Scott Transit Center, $32 million in new roadway infrastructure, and a $6 million, 4.5-mile extension of the MetroBikeLink Trail.

The rail segment includes a station directly across from the airport terminal and parking lot. It is the first full MetroLink expansion in roughly 20 years and will become the system's 39th station once it opens to passengers. Officials say the line will give the St. Louis region one of the few direct rail links between two airports in the country, connecting MidAmerica with Lambert International.

Funding comes from a partnership between the State of Illinois, which contributed $127 million through the Rebuild Illinois Capital Program, and the St. Clair County Transit District, which contributed $65 million. Other partners include the Illinois Department of Transportation, Bi-State Development/Metro Transit, St. Clair County, MidAmerica St. Louis Airport, Gonzalez Cos. and the Southwestern Illinois Building Trades Council.

For developers and investors, the project adds transit access to land around the airport and the Shiloh-Scott corridor, where transit proximity can influence site selection and underwriting. Parcels near the new station may warrant review once service begins.