DRIVING

Take I-70/I-55/US40 east from St. Louis to highway 157 at Illinois exit 11 (11 miles east of the Mississippi River) - or west to exit 11, if you're coming from points north or east of the St. Louis area.

North on 157 to left on Eastport Plaza Drive (first stoplight after the entry ramp back onto westbound I-55/I-70).

Follow Eastport Plaza Drive to the Gateway Center, Holiday Inn, and other hotels.

AIR/RAIL

If you're renting a car at the St. Louis airport, I-70 is the highway that runs past the airport - simply follow the "DRIVING" directions, above. The trip is approximately 25 miles each way, which is a bit far for a taxi. There is no regularly-scheduled shuttle bus service between the airport and Collinsville. We had hoped to make special arrangements for a contract bus service for the 2007 convention, but due to St. Louis airport transportation licensing restrictions, this turned out to not be possible. For a list of airport limousine/shuttle services, click here.

From the airport, an alternative method is to take the $3.50 ($1.75 for seniors, children, and riders with disabilities) Metrolink (light rail) ride to Illinois, get off at the 5th & Missouri (Casino Queen) stop, and take a taxi from there to the Collinsville Gateway Center or your Collinsville hotel (about a 10 mile ride). The Metrolink system runs a line from the St. Louis airport to Scott Air Force Base in Illinois, with various stops in St. Louis and Illinois along the way - there are stations in both the airport Main Terminal (Metrolink end-of-line) and airport East Terminal. Multiple taxi companies service the Casino Queen, with cabs usually parked out front; fare estimates provided by three of these companies were "around $20", "$23.50", and "around $25".

If you arrive by train, you can also take Metrolink from the adjacent downtown St. Louis Amtrak station to the 5th & Missouri stop for $2 ($1 for seniors, children, and riders with disabilities) (a 10-minute ride).

The return Metrolink trip will only cost $2 from anywhere on the line all the way back to the Amtrak station or airport. If you're going to the Airport, be sure you get on the "Airport" train, and not the "Shrewsbury" train, or that you switch trains at the Forest Park-DeBaliviere station (if you're going to the downtown Amtrak station, you can take either train).

Using public transit used to be much simpler, with a direct bus connection from the Fairview Heights, IL Metrolink stop to the Collinsville convention center. Unfortunately, a turf battle between the St. Clair County and Madison County transit services ended this handy service. Now, the "simplest" method for those on a tight budget is to take Metrolink to the Casino Queen/5th & Missouri stop, Madison County Transit (MCT) 18 or 18X (Express) bus line to the Collinsville Station Stop, then transfer to the MCT 15 bus line which stops at the Gateway Center (convention center). Unfortunately, while the 18 line buses operate from 5am to Midnight, the 15 line buses only run from 6am to 6pm, and none of these lines run on Sunday.
An alternative is the MCT 16X bus from downtown St. Louis direct to the Gateway Center, or return, during weekday rush hours. Click here for the 16X route and schedule.

Last update: Fri, 10 Aug 2007 by Rich Zellich