Construction of the Central River Project along the Gateway Arch begins November 14. It is a key component of the CityArchRiver 2015 redevelopment plans. Great Rivers Greenway is taking the lead on the project.
"We're going to be elevating Leonor K. Sullivan Boulevard out of the floodplain, raising it about two and a half feet, which will help us gain more days without flooding," said Susan Trautman, Executive Director of the Great Rivers Greenway District. "We'll be able to connect from our South Mississippi River Greenway to the Confluence Greenway at Biddle Street, so we'll have one continuous on-road and off-road experience for bicyclists, pedestrians, all kinds of people. There'll be a new riverfront promenade. The whole area down on the riverfront will be completely reconstructed."
The CityArchRiver Project is a private-public partnership between the CityArchRiver 2015 Foundation, the National Park Service, the Missouri Department of Transportation, the Great Rivers Greenway District, the City of St. Louis, Metro (the Bi-State Development Agency), the Metro East Park and Recreation District and the Gateway Center of Metropolitan St. Louis - to renovate the area around the Gateway Arch in time for its 50th anniversary in 2015.
It is funded partially by a sales tax approved by the voters of St. Louis City and County but the partnership is looking for private donations to fund the rest. Fundraising is going well so far, said the executive director of the CityArchRiver 2015 Foundation, Maggie Hales.
"We're doing well with the private funding," said Hales. "We've raised a little over a hundred million dollars so far. Our goal overall is 250 million dollars. So we're in the quiet phase of the fundraising right now. And we'll launch into the more public phase next year."
Maps and images of the planned redevelopment can be found at the CityArchRiver 2015 website.
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