Forest Park Parkway Bridge over MetroLink

The Forest Park Parkway Bridge over MetroLink was part of a larger transformation of one of St. Louis’ important connections to the Central West End and Washington University Medical Campus. The existing Forest Park Parkway configuration ran beneath Kingshighway Boulevard, creating difficult movements for drivers and challenges for pedestrians accessing the medical campus, Central West End, and Forest Park. With major expansion planned at the Washington University School of Medicine and Barnes-Jewish Hospital (BJC), improving access and circulation became an important part of the campus renewal effort.

The Washington University School of Medicine Campus Renewal Plan called for converting the Forest Park Parkway and Kingshighway Boulevard intersection into a traditional four-leg, at-grade intersection. This required eliminating the existing Forest Park Parkway underpass and raising the roadway to a new vertical alignment. Because the existing MetroLink bridge was structurally deficient, it also needed to be replaced to accommodate the new roadway profile.

Cochran worked with BJC and the City of St. Louis to secure $2.5 million in federal funding for the bridge portion of the project and provided surveying, engineering design and special construction inspection. The new bridge is a single-span prestressed concrete box girder structure. The project also included roadway approaches, MSE walls, lighting, fencing and coordination with the adjacent Kingshighway intersection improvements and MetroLink operations.

The bridge project was closely coordinated with the reconstruction of the Forest Park Parkway and Kingshighway intersection, which was delivered as a partnership between the City of St. Louis, BJC HealthCare and Washington University School of Medicine. Construction had to be carefully coordinated around active MetroLink operations and the surrounding medical campus to maintain access and minimize disruption.

Cochran provided special inspection during construction, helping deliver the federally funded project in accordance with MoDOT’s Local Public Agency requirements. The project was completed in 2017.

The completed project replaced a structurally deficient bridge while helping transform the surrounding roadway network. Together with the new at-grade intersection, the improvements created a more direct and intuitive connection for vehicles and pedestrians traveling to the medical campus and surrounding community.