Jefferson City has received a six-month extension from the state of Missouri to move the temporary Amtrak site in the parking lot of the Jefferson Landing State Historic Site.
In November, the state Division of Facilities Management, Design and Construction sent a letter to the city saying the trailer needed to be moved from the state-owned parking lot by the end of the year, but after the city's Public Works Committee voted in December to ask for the extension, it was granted and Jefferson City Operations Division Director Britt Smith said they have more time now to decide what to do with the station.
Smith said state officials were asking for the move because the trailer was blocking state parking spaces and finding parking spaces around the Missouri state Capitol is difficult during the legislative session.
The temporary station has been in operation since fall 2019. The station had been housed in the lower floor of the historic Union Hotel, but when that building was found to have structural problems, the state closed its doors. In November, state officials confirmed the hotel building would remain closed for the foreseeable future due to lack of funding for repairs.
When the building closed, the city worked with state agencies to secure a temporary replacement and the state gave the city permission to use the current location for the trailer to provide passengers a place to wait. State officials said there was no formal agreement with the city for the trailer to be put in the parking lot.
The city considered moving the trailer onto city-owned Water Street right-of-way, but it would block one of the two access points to the parking lot next to Jefferson Landing where the temporary trailer currently sits. The state indicated it would sue the city if that occurred.