Editing Columbia, Missouri (section)

==Infrastructure==

===Transportation===
The [[Columbia Transit]] provides public bus and para-transit service, and is owned and operated by the city. In 2008, 1,414,400 passengers boarded along the system's six fixed routes and nine [[University of Missouri]] shuttle routes, and 27,000 boarded the Para-transit service.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gocolumbiamo.com/PublicWorks/Transportation/about-transit.php|title=Home - Public Works|website=Public Works|access-date=June 26, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090115211039/http://www.gocolumbiamo.com/PublicWorks/Transportation/about-transit.php|archive-date=January 15, 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref> The system is constantly experiencing growth in service and technology. A $3.5 million project to renovate and expand the Wabash Station, a rail depot built in 1910 and converted into the city's transit center in the mid-1980s, was completed in summer of 2007.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.columbiamissourian.com/stories/2007/10/17/moving-greyhound-services-wabash-still-major-goal-/ | archive-url=https://archive.today/20080202084514/http://www.columbiamissourian.com/stories/2007/10/17/moving-greyhound-services-wabash-still-major-goal-/ | url-status=dead | archive-date=February 2, 2008 | title=Moving Greyhound services to Wabash still a major goal for City Council | publisher=[[Columbia Missourian]] | last=Latzko | first=Laura | date=October 17, 2007 | access-date=January 9, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.gocolumbiamo.com/PublicWorks/Transportation/wabash-station.php | title=Historic Wabash Station Renovation | work=Columbia Public Works | access-date=July 19, 2008 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090317012225/http://www.gocolumbiamo.com/PublicWorks/Transportation/wabash-station.php | archive-date=March 17, 2009 | url-status=dead }}</ref> In 2007, a Transit Master Plan was created to address the future transit needs of the city and county with a comprehensive plan to add infrastructure in three key phases. The five to 15-year plan intends to add service along the southwest, southeast and northeast sections of Columbia and develop alternative transportation models for Boone County.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gocolumbiamo.com/PublicWorks/Transportation/documents/transitmasterplan2007.pdf |title=COMO Connect |publisher=Gocolumbiamo.com |date=2015-03-30 |access-date=2016-03-22 }}{{Dead link|date=July 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

The city is served by [[Columbia Regional Airport]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Columbia Regional Airport |url=https://www.flycou.com/ |access-date=April 30, 2025 |website=FlyCOU}}</ref> The closest rail station is [[Jefferson City station]], in the state capital [[Jefferson City]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jefferson City, MO (JEF) {{!}} Amtrak |url=https://www.amtrak.com/stations/jef |access-date=2025-04-30 |website=www.amtrak.com |language=en}}</ref>

Columbia is also known for its [[MKT Trail]], a spur of the [[Katy Trail State Park]], which allows foot and bike traffic across the city, and, conceivably, the state. It consists of a soft gravel surface for running and biking. Columbia also is preparing to embark on construction of several new bike paths and street bike lanes thanks to a $25 million grant from the federal government.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.pednet.org/newsFederalAward.html | title=$25 Million of Federal Funding for Columbia's Bike/Ped Network | publisher=PedNet Coalition | date=July 28, 2005 | access-date=January 1, 2008|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080222064635/http://www.pednet.org/newsFederalAward.html |archive-date = February 22, 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> The city is also served by [[American Airlines]] at the [[Columbia Regional Airport]], the only commercial airport in mid-Missouri.<ref name=":1" />

[[Interstate 70 in Missouri|I-70]] (concurrent with [[U.S. Route 40 (Missouri)|US 40]]) and [[U.S. Route 63#Missouri|US 63]] are the two main freeways used for travel to and from Columbia. Within the city, there are also three state highways: [[Missouri Route 763|Routes 763]] (Rangeline Street & College Avenue), [[Missouri Route 163|163]] (Providence Road), and [[Missouri Route 740|740]] (Stadium Boulevard).<ref>{{Cite web |title=MoDOT Routes |url=https://www.como.gov/public-works/street-division/comosnow/modot-routes/ |access-date=April 30, 2025 |website=Columbia Missouri - Official Governemnt Website}}</ref>

Rail service is provided by the city-owned [[Columbia Terminal Railroad]] (COLT), which runs from the north side of Columbia to [[Centralia, Missouri|Centralia]] and a connection to the [[Norfolk Southern Railway]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=City of Columbia - Official Government Website |url=https://www.como.gov/utilities/columbia-colt-railroad/ |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250330020645/https://www.como.gov/utilities/columbia-colt-railroad/ |archive-date=2025-03-30 |access-date=2025-04-30 |website=www.como.gov |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Health systems===
[[File:Muhospital.JPG|thumb|The [[University of Missouri Hospital]] is the main hospital of the [[University of Missouri Health Care|MU Health Care System]], and it is the largest hospital in Columbia.|alt=Photograph of the University of Missouri Hospital]]
Health care is a big part of Columbia's economy, with nearly one in six people working in a health-care related profession<ref name = "yhxnoz">{{cite web | url=http://www.columbiatribune.com/2007/OurTown/071.asp | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080203202556/http://www.columbiatribune.com/2007/OurTown/071.asp | url-status=dead | archive-date=February 3, 2008 | title=Hospitals offer a vital indicator of fiscal health | publisher=[[Columbia Daily Tribune]] | date=June 17, 2007 | access-date=January 8, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.avapl.org/training/Columbia/columbia.htm | title=The Columbia Area | publisher=Missouri Health Sciences Psychology Consortium | access-date=January 9, 2008|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080220185630/http://www.avapl.org/training/Columbia/columbia.htm |archive-date = February 20, 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> and a physician density that is about three times the United States average.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.academyhealth.org/2006/612/arahoa.ppt |format=PPT |title=Physician Migration to the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Australia |publisher=Academy Health |access-date=January 9, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080910085314/http://www.academyhealth.org/2006/612/arahoa.ppt |archive-date=September 10, 2008 }}</ref><ref name = "zqxfvy">{{cite web | url=http://chamber.columbia.mo.us/community/profile.asp?Medical | title=Community Profile | publisher=Columbia Chamber of Commerce | access-date=January 9, 2008|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080203135323/http://chamber.columbia.mo.us/community/profile.asp?Medical |archive-date = February 3, 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> The city's hospitals and supporting facilities are a large referral center for the state, and medical related trips to the city are common.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://chamber.columbia.mo.us/community/healthcare.asp?HealthCare | title=Health Care | publisher=Columbia Chamber of Commerce | access-date=January 8, 2008|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080209060946/http://chamber.columbia.mo.us/community/healthcare.asp?HealthCare |archive-date = February 9, 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> There are three hospital systems within the city and five hospitals with a total of 1,105 beds.<ref name = "yhxnoz"/><ref name = "zqxfvy"/>
[[File:Boone hospital main.jpg|thumb|[[Boone Hospital Center]] is the second largest hospital in Columbia and is the largest private hospital in Boone County.|alt=Photograph of Boone Hospital Center from a parking lot]]
The [[University of Missouri Health Care]] operates three hospitals in Columbia: the [[University of Missouri Hospital]], the [[University of Missouri Women's and Children's Hospital]] (formerly Columbia Regional Hospital), and the [[Ellis Fischel Cancer Center]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Locations {{!}} MU Health Care |url=https://www.muhealth.org/locations |access-date=2025-04-30 |website=www.muhealth.org}}</ref> [[Boone Hospital Center]] was administered by [[Barnes-Jewish Hospital|BJC Healthcare]], but separated in 2021.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-04-01 |title=Boone Health Becomes Independent Health Care Provider - Boone Health |url=https://boone.health/about-us/boone-health-becomes-independent-health-care-provider/ |access-date=2025-04-30 |language=en-US}}</ref> The [[Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans' Hospital]], adjacent to University Hospital, is administered by the [[United States Department of Veterans Affairs]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-11-25 |title=Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans' Hospital {{!}} VA Columbia Missouri health care |url=https://www.va.gov/columbia-missouri-health-care/locations/harry-s-truman-memorial-veterans-hospital/ |access-date=2025-04-30 |website=Veterans Affairs |language=en}}</ref>

There are a large number of medical-related industries in Columbia. The [[University of Missouri School of Medicine]] uses university-owned facilities as teaching hospitals. The [[University of Missouri Research Reactor Center]] is the largest research reactor in the United States and produces [[radioisotopes]] used in nuclear medicine.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.missourilifesciences.org/location.php?id=9 | title=Universities | publisher=The Missouri Life Sciences Project | access-date=January 8, 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070808033347/http://www.missourilifesciences.org/location.php?id=9 |archive-date = August 8, 2007}}</ref> The center serves as the sole supplier of the active ingredients in two [[U.S. Food and Drug Administration]]-approved [[radiopharmaceuticals]] and produces [[Fluorine-18]] used in [[PET imaging]] with its [[cyclotron]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://research.missouri.edu/news/stories/061124_murr.htm | title=MU Research Reactor Submits 20-year License Renewal Application | publisher=MU News Bureau | date=November 24, 2006 | access-date=January 1, 2008 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071217010603/http://research.missouri.edu/news/stories/061124_murr.htm | archive-date=December 17, 2007 | df=mdy-all }}</ref>