ST. LOUIS–MetroLink reiterated Tuesday that it could still be months before damage caused by last month’s flash flooding is fully repaired, and shared security footage from the July 26 event showing how the record rainfall caused millions of dollars in damage.

The DeBaliviere MetroLink signal house, which Spectrum News saw smoking amid the flooding, is a total loss, thanks to about seven feet of water. A total of four signal houses systemwide had “substantial” damage, the agency said.

 

“Because the Red Line and Blue Line meet at the Forest Park-DeBaliviere Station, the DeBaliviere signal house plays a critical role in maintaining safe operations at that intersection. Since the DeBaliviere signal house is a total loss and the signal and communications systems still down, we are currently unable to move the Blue Line and Red Line trains through the Forest Park-DeBaliviere Station. That is why you have to catch a MetroLink Station Shuttle to transfer between the two lines. We are devoting a lot of time and attention to clean and assess each piece of those highly sensitive and intricate electrical systems that was underwater to see what can be repaired and what components must be replaced with new equipment,” MetroLink said in an online post.

The damage at the signal houses and other equipment also means train service can’t function at full speed in the impacted areas.

MetroLink say it is working on a way to switch between the Blue Line and the Red Line by train at the Forest Park-DeBaliviere Station ahead of the ultimate repairs, with hopes of releasing more information “in the coming days.”