South County Connector Project: Truly Dead

The Post-Dispatch got it on record recently:  the proposed $120 million “South County Connector” project, intended to link I-55 with I-44 and I-64, has been “permanently shelved” by St. Louis County. Over several years, Trailnet vigorously organized opposition to this project for environmental, economic, and historic preservation reasons.

We worked with many others in this battle, including elected officials like county councilman Pat Dolan, St. Louis alderman Scott Ogilvie, city leaders in Maplewood, Webster Groves, and Shrewsbury, as well as institutions like the Washington University School of Law and non-profits such as Missouri Coalition for the Environment, Sierra Club and the River DesPeres Watershed Coalition.

Although the County declared the project to be “on hold” in November 2014, we realized there was a chance it could resurface.  Now, almost two years later, we can declare victory knowing that “permanently shelved” means the South County Connector is really, truly dead.