The East-West Gateway Council of Governments recently approved the 2026 Priority Projects List featuring the top infrastructure needs for manufacturing and logistics industries in eastern Missouri and southwestern Illinois.
The 2026 list includes 29 projects that represent a total investment of nearly $8.9 billion. As of May 2025, more than $560 million in projects on the list had been completed and more than $2.6 billion in funding was allocated for additional projects on the list, with many already in construction or soon to be.
“The numbers highlighted in this year’s report, which continue to grow year over year, underscore the tremendous commitment to improving freight infrastructure in the bi-state St. Louis region by securing funding and advancing major projects through the development pipeline,” said Mary Lamie, Executive Vice President of Multimodal Enterprises for Bi-State Development and head of the St. Louis Regional Freightway.
Projects on the list include construction or rehabilitation of critical interstates, roads, rail infrastructure, and bridges, as well as port and airport facility enhancements.
Lamie noted that many of the projects support access to the growing number of industrial parks and the region’s continued ranking as the most efficient inland port in the nation.
| Your local Komatsu America Corp dealer |
|---|
| Brandeis Machinery |
“We’re thrilled with the progress revealed in this year’s list,” she said. “We also are confident it is just the beginning of a sustained period of significant infrastructure investment for our region.”
The priority projects are identified by the St. Louis Regional Freightway’s Freight Development Committee. On that committee are representatives from the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT), East-West Gateway Council of Governments, all modes of transportation (river, roads, rails, and runways), the manufacturing and logistics industries, and academia.
The Priority Projects List is compiled annually and used to align advocacy for funding of critical infrastructure improvements. Three high-priority projects from the 2026 list are highlighted below. (See “2026 Priority Freight Projects” for the full list of projects.)
“Interstate 55 is a critical north-south corridor,” said Justin Wolf, MoDOT’s Project Director. “Closely paralleling the Mississippi River, I-55 supports a region experiencing significant port expansion and increasing freight movement. In Jefferson County, the I-55 Corridor Improvement Project represents a $246 million investment to improve safety, capacity, and reliability.”
| Your local LeeBoy dealer |
|---|
| Brandeis Machinery |
Extending from Route Z to U.S. Route 67, the project began construction in early 2024, with completion expected by December 2026. MoDOT selected the KCI Team — comprised of KCI Construction Company, Bartlett & West, and Wilson & Company — for the 12-mile-long, design-build project.
“The project extends the existing six-lane section 8 miles south to the U.S. 67 interchange, a key freight route also seeing rapid growth in truck traffic,” Wolf said.
In addition, the KCI Team will replace 14 bridges, rehabilitate 12 bridges, and build a new Route CC bridge over U.S. Route 67.
New to the Priority Projects List this year, MoDOT’s Forward 44 program stretches from the Oklahoma state line through Franklin County, Missouri. Statewide, MoDOT estimates that I-44 carries more than 1.3 billion tons of freight annually at an estimated value of over $3.7 billion. Originally completed in 1966, the corridor’s capacity is becoming inadequate for expected demand.
| Your local Case Construction Equipment Inc dealer |
|---|
| Birkey's Construction Equipment |
An estimated $200 million of I-44 improvements in the St. Louis region will improve capacity and operations. For instance, the U.S. 50 interchange project will increase safety while improving roadway conditions to meet current design standards. MoDOT plans to start design-build procurement and proposal development for the U.S. 50 interchange work in 2026.
“This project will have a significant impact on Franklin County and its residents, as well as those who travel through it, by providing safety improvements for all system users,” said Jordan Dalaviras, MoDOT’s Franklin/Jefferson Counties Area Liaison.
Throughout the state, one project in the Forward 44 program has been completed, with three others in progress or wrapping up. Four other projects are in the planning phase.
IL Route 3 is the backbone of a nearly 60-mile-long, 5-mile-wide economic corridor in southwestern Illinois. The corridor provides access through the industrial heart of the region and is responsible for 215,000 jobs and a $9.2 billion annual payroll.
| Your local Gomaco dealer |
|---|
| Fabick CAT/MO |
Although the state made significant investments in recent years, IL Route 3 still needs improvements to support long-term job growth, improve access, and accelerate the redevelopment of brownfield sites and underutilized properties along the corridor.
To help achieve that, the 2-mile-long, $305.5 million IL Route 3 Relocation project includes construction of a new four-lane corridor from Riverpark Drive in East St. Louis, south to Monsanto Avenue in Sauget. The project will decrease congestion, improve safety, and enhance regional and local mobility with improved access to existing and future Mississippi River bridge crossings and the riverfront.
Final design is anticipated to begin in fall 2026. IDOT’s 2025-2030 Multi-Year Plan provided funding for the project.
On the eastern edge of Sauget, a separate $30 million project would construct a new structure on Falling Springs Road over the intersection of Alton & Southern Railroad and the Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis railroads. The new structure will provide a loop that allows commuters to avoid gridlock on IL Route 3 caused by rail traffic. That project is partially funded.
| Your local Wirtgen America dealer |
|---|
| Brandeis Machinery |
During the Freight Summit hosted earlier this year by the St. Louis Regional Freightway, leaders from Illinois and Missouri outlined historic transportation investments and their strategies to advance development in the region.
IDOT Secretary Gia Biagi shared the vision for Illinois’ $40 billion multi-year program — part of the biggest capital plan in state history.
“We see our investments in transportation as a fundamental of economic development,” she said.
Biagi also underscored the importance of aligning infrastructure investments with community needs, noting that a recent $400 million funding opportunity drew $5 billion in project requests from across Illinois, showing where needs exist.
| Your local Wirtgen America dealer |
|---|
| Brandeis Machinery |
In a pre-recorded video address, MoDOT Director Ed Hassinger highlighted Missouri’s record $13.2 billion five-year plan, made possible by increased federal and state funding, including general revenue dedicated to transportation for the first time in state history.
“We have been entrusted with more money than we’ve had in a really long time,” he said. “That’s going to allow us to take care of some huge priorities that we’ve been talking about for years.”
Both Biagi and Hassinger talked about the importance of collaboration, with the I-270 improvement project serving as a prime example. For that project, the two agencies used a Required Combination Bid process for construction, where contractors bid on both the Chain of Rocks Bridge across the Mississippi River and Missouri’s Riverview Interchange project adjacent to the bridge. Walsh Construction Company II, LLC, was awarded the $496.2 million bridge contract by IDOT and the $34.4 interchange contract by MoDOT.
“There's a saying that the speed of trust is slow, and we have built trust across our organizations slowly — over many, many decades really — collaborating and finding wins together,” Biagi said. “Think about that. Two states doing a well-timed mutual procurement for the same project to make sure there's alignment when we get to the other side and we need to make an award, and it's the same contractor. I don't know a lot of states that could pull that off. I see here a great template for how we could do things all across our borders.”
| Your local Wirtgen America dealer |
|---|
| Brandeis Machinery |
- I-270: James S. McDonnell Boulevard to Bellefontaine Road, Missouri, $278 million
- Merchants Bridge (TRRA) Replacement over the Mississippi River, Missouri/Illinois, $222 million
- Union Pacific Railroad Lenox Tower and Track Realignment, Illinois, $10.1 million
- Earth City Access Improvements, Missouri, $4.1 million
- North Park Access Improvements, Missouri, $3 million
- J.S. McDonnell Connector Access Improvements, Missouri, $2.4 million
- I-55 Improvements from Route Z to U.S. Route 67, Missouri, $246 million — CONSTRUCTION UNDERWAY
- Illinois Route 3 Connector, Illinois, $102 million
- MacArthur Bridge Improvements over the Mississippi River, $75 million
- I-64 Improvements from Green Mount Road to Illinois Route 158, Illinois, $67.3 million
- I-270 Improvements from I-70 in Missouri to Illinois Route 157, $1.2 billion
- - I-270 Corridor Improvements from Route 367 to West of Route H, Missouri, $42 million — FUNDED (fiscal year 2026)
- - I-270 Mississippi River Chain of Rocks Bridge Replacement, Illinois/Missouri, $496 million — CONSTRUCTION UNDERWAY
- - Chain of Rocks Canal in Granite City to 0.1 miles east of St. Thomas Road, Illinois, $104 million — PARTIALLY FUNDED
- - St. Thomas Road to IL Route 111, Illinois, $14.6 million for engineering — FUNDED; approximate construction cost $385 million — UNFUNDED
- - IL Route 111 at Chain of Rocks Road in Pontoon Beach Intersection Reconstruction, Illinois, $20.1 million — FUNDED
- - 0.2 miles east of IL Route 111 in Pontoon Beach to 0.5 miles east of I-55/I-70 Resurfacing and Bridge Repair, Illinois, $93.5 million — FUNDED
- - Riverview Drive Exchange, Missouri, $35.4 million — CONSTRUCTION UNDERWAY
- - I-270 at IL Route 111 Interchange, Illinois, $25.1 million — CONSTRUCTION UNDERWAY
- I-70 Improvements from Wentzville to Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge, Missouri, $1.181 billion
- - Segment 1
- — I-70 Warren County (Route T/W to Route K) to Wentzville (U.S. 61), $634 million — FUNDED
- - Segment 2
- — I-70 Interchange, Outer Road and Mainline Improvements from Bryan Road to Mid Rivers Mall Drive, $20 million — UNFUNDED
- — I-70 Improvements from Cave Springs Road to Convention Center Boulevard, $62 million — FUNDED
- — Outer Road Improvements from Highway 94 to Zumbehl Road — SUBSTANTIALLY COMPLETE
- - Segment 3
- — Highway 94 to I-270 — FUNDING STATUS TBD
- - Segment 4
- — I-70 Improvements from the Missouri River to North Hanley Road, $175 million — UNFUNDED
- — Missouri River to U.S. 67, $58 million — FUNDED
- - Segment 5
- — I-70 St. Louis City Limit to Benton Street, $152 million — UNFUNDED
- — I-70 Benton Street to Illinois state line, $80 million — UNFUNDED
- America’s Central Port Intermodal Improvements, Illinois, $376.9 million — PARTIALLY FUNDED
- IL Route 3 Access Improvements, Illinois, $335.5 million — PARTIALLY FUNDED
- I-44 Improvements from Oklahoma state line through Franklin County, Missouri, $200 million (St. Louis region) — PARTIALLY FUNDED
- I-255/Davis Street Ferry Road Interchange, Illinois, $121.4 million — PARTIALLY FUNDED
- St. Louis Multimodal Freight Yard Expansion at Madison Yard and Rail Improvements St. Clair County, Illinois, $98 million — PARTIALLY FUNDED
- Mississippi River Port Development Projects, Missouri, over $59 million — PARTIALLY FUNDED
- St. Louis Lambert International Airport Cargo Improvements, Missouri, $49.1 million — PARTIALLY FUNDED
- Kaskaskia Regional Port District Improvements, Illinois, $45.5 million — PARTIALLY FUNDED
- North Riverfront Commerce Corridor Improvements, Missouri
- - Hall Street and Riverview Drive Improvements
- — Hall Street from Grand Avenue to Adelaide Avenue, $4.3 million — COMPLETED
- — Hall Street from Adelaide Avenue to Riverview Drive, $17 million — PARTIALLY FUNDED
- — Riverview Drive from Hall Street to I-270, $5.8 million — COMPLETED
- - Branch Street Improvements, $5 million — UNFUNDED
- - I-70 Westbound Off-Ramp to North Broadway Relocation, $1.6 million — COMPLETED
- Illinois Route 158 Relocation from Route 161 to IL 15, Illinois, $70 million — PARTIALLY FUNDED
- New Terminal for St. Louis Lambert International Airport, Missouri, $3 billion — PARTIALLY FUNDED
- Martin Luther King Bridge Replacement over the Mississippi River, Missouri, $629 million — PARTIALLY FUNDED
- I-55/I-70 Add Lane Improvements from I-255 to I-270, Illinois, $400 million — PARTIALLY FUNDED
- MidAmerica St. Louis Airport Distribution Improvements, Illinois, $45 million — UNFUNDED
- St. Louis Lambert International Airport Access Improvements, Missouri, $37.5 million — UNFUNDED
- I-255/Fish Lake Interchange, Illinois, $27 million — UNFUNDED
- Studies to Reconstruct Connecting Bridges over the Mississippi River Interchanges in Downtown St. Louis Area — COST TBD
Details about each of these projects can be found at thefreightway.com/resources/.
