Photo Courtesy CBSKMOXAMSenator hosted LaHood and Salazar one year ago to show need firsthand, will announce new investment on Wednesday
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill will host the U.S. Secretaries of Transportation and the Interior at the Arch in St. Louis on Wednesday to announce a major investment in roadway improvements.
Wednesday’s announcement comes nearly a year to the day after McCaskill brought Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to St. Louis to view plans for a revitalization of the Arch grounds and to see firsthand the need for infrastructure improvements around the Arch. On Tuesday, a $20 million TIGER IIIgrant was awarded to the Missouri Department of Transportation and the CityArchRiver 2015 initiative for roadway improvements along the Interstate 70 corridor.
“CityArchRiver 2015 Foundation thanks the U.S. Department of Transportation and all our elected officials who have supported this project,” said Walter Metcalfe, lead director of the Foundation. “Just over one year ago, Senator McCaskill invited Secretaries LaHood and Salazar to visit the Arch grounds and discuss our vision and the public-private partnership we are building. This grant is an important step in the process of making St. Louis’s vision a reality.”
“The entire Jefferson National Expansion Memorial—including the Arch and the Old Courthouse—is synonymous with St. Louis and America’s westward expansion,” McCaskill said. “This competitive grant will help to improve safety and accessibility. While much hard work remains, this is an important first step in making St. Louis’ vision of a revitalized Memorial a reality. I congratulate the applicants for constructing a meritorious project and application and am excited to be once again joined by Secretaries LaHood and Salazar in St. Louis.”
“Thanks to this TIGER grant, these improvements to the I-70 corridor will not only make travel safer and more efficient for pedestrians and drivers alike, they will also have a positive economic effect on the entire St. Louis area,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “We can’t wait to put our friends and neighbors back to work, which is why the Department of Transportation announced our TIGER grant awards months ahead of schedule, allowing great projects like this one to move forward all across the country.”
“The revitalization of this great urban park in St. Louis is a priority for the Obama administration as part of the President’s America’s Great Outdoors initiative,” said Secretary Salazar. “Through TIGER dollars and collaboration with our local partners, I look forward to more progress in building outdoor recreation opportunities for St. Louis, while growing the local economy and creating jobs for the community.”
Last year, McCaskill hosted LaHood and Salazar at the Arch to discuss efforts to revitalize the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial by improving connections to St. Louis, East St. Louis and Illinois riverfronts, expanding the national park to include Malcolm Martin Memorial park, and expanding visitor programming and museum facilities to enhance the experience for millions of yearly visitors.
The CityArchRiver 2015 initiative was formed to launch a worldwide design competition to expand and improve the Gateway Arch grounds.
Wednesday’s announcement with McCaskill, LaHood, and Salazar is open to the media.
TIGER GRANT ANNOUNCEMENT
WHEN: Wednesday, December 21
1:00 p.m. CT
WHERE: Old Courthouse on the Arch grounds
11 North Fourth Street
St. Louis, Mo.
WHO: U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood
U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar
Missouri Governor Jay Nixon
St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay
Press Release Via CityArchRiver.org
]]>
"The Pizzo Companies are excited to sponsor STL ASLA. ASLA represents the pinnacle of principled service to a profession that Pizzo values immensely. Pizzo believes in the science of functional design and we believe strongly in ASLA’s ability to affect change as it continues to bring the discipline of ecology into site planning considerations. 
;)
;)
;)
