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Bi-State to operate Loop Trolley for another three years

The Loop Trolley headquarters on Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2021, in St. Louis. The East-West Gateway Council of Governments rejected approval of $1.26 million in federal highway funds to help cover the street car’s operational costs on Wednesday, putting the future of the trolley in question.
Brian Munoz
/
St. Louis Public Radio
The Bi-State Development Agency has agreed to operate the Loop Trolley for another three years. The trolley's headquarters in St. Louis' West End neighborhood is shown in October 2021.

The Loop Trolley will keep running for another three years.

Bi-State Development Agency’s board of directors voted without opposition on Friday to continue a deal to physically operate the trolley for 32 hours a week between April and October. The Loop Trolley Transit Development District covers the costs.

Bi-State President and Chief Executive Officer Taulby Roach praised the head of Metro Transit for reducing the trolley’s operating budget to match the revenue generated by the development district.

“I think this is a great success not only for Metro Transit and Bi-State but also for the region,” Roach said. “We’ve been able to take a troubled asset and get it to work.”

Bi-State took over the trolley in 2022 in order to help the region avoid having to pay back the millions of federal dollars used to construct the 2.2-mile trolley line. At the time, Roach said he was “gritting [his] teeth” in asking board members to approve the deal.

Flood repairs

Also on Friday, Bi-State board members approved a $3 million contract to finish repairs to MetroLink equipment ruined by a June 2022 flood.

The storm dropped nine inches of rain in the St. Louis area in a single day, breaking a 107-year-old record. The Forest Park-DeBaliviere station was completely underwater, damaging some train control equipment beyond repair.

Bi-State used emergency contracting procedures to replace the DeBaliviere signal house. The contract signed Friday is for upgrades to two other signal houses at the station, which were able to be repaired after the flood. The agency will also increase flood protection for those structures.

The agency’s property insurance will cover the cost.

Rachel is the justice correspondent at St. Louis Public Radio.