By KWMU / AP
St. Louis, MO – Madison County Transit will not take passengers to downtown St. Louis for at least the next month, starting today, because bridge construction delays have made it impossible to stay on schedule.
Routes that go downtown will instead end at the Emerson Park Metrolink Station. Effected routes are #1X, #3X, #5, #12X, #14X, #16X, and #18.
Riders will get a free pass good for two hours on Metro Link or Metro Bus.
The move comes a week after Illinois motorists and bus riders dealt with especially frustrating morning commutes that were three to four times longer than normal. Some Metro East residents say their 35-minute morning drive became a two-hour ordeal due to backups on the bridges connecting St. Louis to Illinois.
Madison County Transit serves about 7,500 riders each day with more than 70 buses