North Connector of STL’s Brickline Greenway Nears Construction

Great Rivers Greenway (GRG), the public agency that has been connecting the region with greenways for 25 years, invites community members to celebrate the groundbreaking of the north connector of the Brickline Greenway on Monday, March 24, 2025. The event, hosted by partner Veterans Community Project at 1515 N. Grand Boulevard, is open to the public from 8-9:30 a.m. Refreshments will be provided, with staff on hand to discuss the project. Formal remarks begin at 8:30 a.m. from St. Louis Mayor Tishaura O. Jones, GRG CEO Susan Trautman, and several leaders and partners. Parking on site is limited; attendees are encouraged to take public transit or walk or bike to the event.

The 1.3-mile project will create a new, paved, accessible greenway (path) on the west side of Grand Boulevard from Fairground Park at Natural Bridge Avenue south to Cass Avenue, west to Spring Avenue, and south to Page Boulevard that will address the dire need for safety improvements. In just four years of study, there were 733 reported crashes resulting in seven deaths, 301 injuries and at least 17 disabling injuries to people walking and driving in this area. The project includes new paths, crosswalks, bus stops (the #70 Grand is the highest used bus in the Metro Transit system), with hundreds of new trees, public art, and amenities.

“Hundreds of community members’ voices and partner collaborations helped to bring this project to life,” said Trautman in a statement. “The remarkable mix of federal, state, and local public funding alongside significant philanthropic giving have come together for a huge impact.”

The construction also includes improvements to the east side of Grand Boulevard, thanks to contributions from the city’s American Rescue Plan Act funds and two additional federal transportation grants.

“St. Louisans deserve safe and enjoyable options for getting around. Building this section of the Brickline Greenway in North City shows how serious GRG, the City, and everyone involved are about equitably improving our infrastructure,” said Jones. “Along with City projects also happening in 2025 and 2026 — like calming 30 miles of main roads and building several protected bike lanes — the Brickline Greenway is reshaping our transportation landscape and making our streets people-friendly.”

This project is one segment of the overall Brickline Greenway project, which is a $245 million public-private partnership. Great Rivers Greenway will bid it out for construction this month, and the north-connector project is expected to break ground in May and take approximately 18 months to complete. North Grand will keep parking on both sides of the street in between curb bump-outs and safer crosswalks, and driving lanes will be reduced to one narrower lane of car travel in each direction with a center lane for turning and emergency vehicle access. Similar traffic calming measures employed for a project in South City have resulted in only 9 percent of people exceeding the 35-mph speed limit while driving in the narrowed southbound lanes alongside the River des Peres Greenway vs. 56 percent of the people exceeding the speed limit when driving in the wide northbound lanes.

“We’re committed to investing in the Brickline Greenway because it will attract more businesses, talent and energy to St. Louis,” said Penny Pennington, Managing Partner at Edward Jones and Campaign Co-Chair for the Brickline Greenway project. “Our region deserves transformative projects like the Brickline Greenway that promote accessibility and shared prosperity.”

Both Edward Jones and the Penny Pennington and Michael Fidler Family are contributing to the project, alongside the Berges Family Foundation, Emily Rauh Pulitzer, Ameren, and many others.

For more information, go to Brickline Greenway.

Top image: Rendering of Grand Boulevard looking north to Fairground Park at Natural Bridge Avenue. (Great Rivers Greenway)