ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - The St. Louis region could be forced to pay back millions if they can't submit a plan that would revive the Loop Trolley.
The deadline is Feb. 1 and around $37 million in federal funding is at risk, St. Louis County Executive Dr. Sam Page says.
The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) sent a letter to St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones on Monday, threatening to recover the money if the Loop Trolley doesn't offer "least four days of service per week with three vehicles" by June 1, 2022. The letter says five grants awarded between 2011 and 2015 a total of $37.45 million to construct the 2.2-mile Loop Trolley project.
"It's unfortunate that East-West Gateway Council of Governments refused another federal grant that would have helped get the trolley running again," Page says. "
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Here's a statement Jones put out about the letter:
"In the letter the FTA reemphasizes what Mayor Jones and County Executive Page have warned our region about over and over again; failure to fix the Loop Trolley problem will result in a federal clawback of tens of millions of dollars while imperiling our entire region’s ability to receive federal grants in the future – including from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Plan.
"While the mayor did not support the Loop Trolley’s construction, she is committed to fixing this problem to protect our region’s transit dollars and our ability to receive federal support moving forward. We are assessing our next steps and will keep the public informed on the next steps.
"We hope our partners recognize the urgency of the situation and are ready to come together to fix this issue that could imperil federal funding for municipalities across our region."
Service stopped on the Loop Trolley in December of 2019, after it was plagued with breakdowns and late train arrivals since its debut in November 2018.
The trolley broke down on its final ride, stranding riders for 45 minutes.
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