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Forest Park Parkway (St. Louis)

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Forest Park Parkway
Forest Park Avenue
Forest Park Parkway as seen from the Washington University overpass looking east.
NamesakeForest Park
TypeParkway
Maintained bySt. Louis County, St. Louis
Length6.8 mi (10.9 km)
LocationClayton–St. Louis, Missouri
Postal code63105, 63130, 63112, 63108, 63110, 63103[1]
East end I-64 in St. Louis
West end I-170 in Clayton

Forest Park Parkway is a parkway in Clayton, Missouri and St. Louis that runs from Interstate 170, becomes Forest Park Avenue at Kingshighway Boulevard, and ends at Market Street and Interstate 64. It is considered an arterial snow route.[2][3] Its right-of-way has carried various railroad lines throughout much of its history.

History

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A #14 University-Clayton streetcar along Millbrook in the 1960s

The corridor began life in the 19th century as a heavy rail line used by the Rock Island and Wabash railroads along with local streetcars.[4] The segment between the Terminal Railroad's Central Belt Subdivision (near present day Interstate 170) and Forsyth Junction (now the junction of MetroLink's Red and Blue lines) was abandoned by the Rock Island in 1931. Prior to its abandonment, the railroad operated a passenger depot at Clayton, near the spot of today's MetroLink station. In the 1940s, before the suspension of streetcar service in the St. Louis area, the portion of this corridor between Pershing and DeBaliviere avenues carried the #1 Kirkwood and the #14 University-Clayton streetcar lines. Service on the Kirkwood line ended in 1950 with service on the University-Clayton line ending in 1963.[5][6] The Wabash Railroad continued to operate freight service east and north of Forsyth Junction until 1988.

Millbrook Boulevard was built in a portion of the abandoned Rock Island right-of-way and in 1959, construction began on Forest Park Parkway, an urban renewal project which saw Millbrook renamed and extended from Skinker Boulevard to Kingshighway.[7][4] Here, the Parkway meets Forest Park Avenue which runs east to its present terminus at Market Street and Compton Avenue at Interstate 64 in Midtown St. Louis.

In 2017, the city of St. Louis and BJC Healthcare opened a reconstructed at-grade intersection between Forest Park Avenue and Kingshighway Boulevard. Previously, Forest Park Avenue dipped below-grade and passed beneath Kingshighway as it became Forest Park Parkway.[8] Currently, the intersection with Grand Boulevard still has this underpass feature as motorists enter and exit I-64.

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Airport/Central Corridor

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A MetroLink train passes next to Forest Park Parkway within Forest Park

In 1993, MetroLink's initial route opened between St. Louis Lambert International Airport and East St. Louis, Illinois. Roughly 7.8 miles (12.6 km) of the abandoned Wabash right-of-way between Normandy in North St. Louis County and Grand Boulevard in St. Louis were reused. The Forest Park-DeBaliviere station was built at the former Forsyth Junction, where the Rock Island and Wabash railroads once met.

Cross County Extension

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MetroLink's Blue Line running in the median of Forest Park Parkway in downtown Clayton

In June 1999, the East-West Gateway Council of Governments released conceptual designs for the Cross County MetroLink extension including at-grade, below-grade and elevated portions.[9] Initially, trains were to run at-grade in the median of Forest Park Parkway with stations between Forest Park and Clayton. After considering feedback from local residents, Metro opted to move this segment into cuts and subway tunnels along the former streetcar right-of-way and place the Skinker and University City-Big Bend stations underground.[10] These changes were finalized in 2002 but led to delays and cost overruns on the extension. However, construction began in 2003 and the extension opened on August 26, 2006.[10][11]

Major intersections and stations

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County Location mi km Destination / Intersection Notes
City of St. Louis 0.00 0.00 Market Street/Interstate 64 Beginning of Forest Park Avenue
0.6 0.96 Vandeventer Ave
2.0 3.21 Kingshighway Blvd Western terminus of avenue, start of parkway
2.6 4.18 Lindell/Union Blvd Eastbound entrance and exit, westbound exit
3.2 5.14 DeBaliviere Ave
4.1 6.59 Skinker Blvd
St. Louis County University City 4.8 7.72 Big Bend Blvd
5.2 8.36 Pershing Ave No access for eastbound traffic
6.2 9.97 Bemiston Ave (Shaw Park Drive) Eastbound entrance and westbound exit
Clayton 6.3 10.13 Central Ave (Government Center) Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
6.4 10.29 Brentwood Blvd
6.8 10.94 Interstate 170 Western terminus
Station Location Service Type Points of interest
Forest Park–DeBaliviere Disabled access 250 DeBaliviere Avenue Red Blue Below-grade Forest Park, Loop Trolley, Missouri History Museum, The Muny
Skinker Disabled access 260 North Skinker Boulevard Blue Underground Delmar Loop, Forest Park, Saint Louis Art Museum, Washington University in St. Louis
University City–Big Bend Disabled access 7000 Forest Park Parkway Blue Underground Fontbonne University, University City, Washington University in St. Louis
Forsyth Disabled access 7411 Forsyth Boulevard Blue Below-grade Carondelet Plaza, Downtown Clayton, University City
Clayton Disabled access 275 South Central Avenue Blue At-grade Downtown Clayton, Shaw Park, St. Louis County Government Center

References

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  1. ^ "St. Louis city - Missouri Zip Code Boundary Map (MO)". www.zipmap.net. Retrieved 2018-09-20.
  2. ^ "Snow Route Map". stlouis-mo.gov (Arcgis Map). City of St. Louis, Street Department. Retrieved 2018-09-20.
  3. ^ "Map of City of St. Louis snow routes" (PDF). stlouis-mo.gov. City of St. Louis, Street Department. 2014-02-05. https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/street/documents/Snow-Route-Map.cfm. Retrieved 2018-09-20.
  4. ^ a b Ihnen, Alex (2015-12-03). "Kingshighway and Forest Park Parkway Set to Become At-Grade Intersection". NextSTL. Retrieved 2023-10-03.
  5. ^ Andrew D. Young (1988). The St. Louis Streetcar Story. Glendale, CA: Interurban Press. p. 205.
  6. ^ Andrew D. Young (1988). The St. Louis Streetcar Story. Glendale, CA: Interurban Press. p. 9.
  7. ^ "History". Ames Place Community. Retrieved 2023-10-03.
  8. ^ "City and BJC to Open Forest Park Parkway at Kingshighway". stlouis-mo.gov. 2017-08-31. Retrieved 2022-11-07.
  9. ^ "Cross County MetroLink, Segment Conceptual Design, Staff Recommendations" (PDF). East-West Gateway Council of Governments. June 30, 1999. p. v.
  10. ^ a b "St. Louis MetroLink Takes Shape Despite Delays : CEG". www.constructionequipmentguide.com. Retrieved 2023-10-03.
  11. ^ "St. Louis Metro to Launch MetroLink Extension August 26". Apta.com. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
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