MetroLink

The stop at Emerson Park in East St. Louis marked the first of MetroLink’s “secure platforms” — a $52 million upgrade for stations that will include turnstiles, gates, fencing and checking tickets.

Riders will be bused via MetroLink Station Shuttles between the three platforms this weekend. Customers traveling through this area are encouraged to plan for an additional 20 minutes during their weekend commute.

The Belleville, Fairview Heights, Shiloh and Swansea police departments will allow off-duty officers to patrol up to 30 hours per week.

Plans include new transit lines and redesigning major roads to make them safer and more accessible for pedestrians and cyclists.

The 16,000-square-foot facility houses a new St. Clair County 911 dispatch unit, office space for the county sheriff's department and backup equipment for the light rail system's control center.

The public meetings this week are meant to kick off the yearlong environmental review process and come after some of the initial design and engineering work that’s already been completed.

The families of shooting victims criticized MetroLink security in 2019 and again in 2023 because no police were patrolling the Metro East stations at the time the crimes occurred.

Transit officials say a $1 billion expansion of the MetroLink that would connect north and south St. Louis along Jefferson Avenue will rely on federal transit grants.

The project — which will connect MidAmerica to St. Louis-Lambert International Airport via light rail — is expected to wrap in spring 2026, according to the St. Clair County Transit District.

Riders have said Metro Transit's paratransit service is outdated and doesn’t meet their needs.