Mount Auburn Road from William Street to Independence likely will be widened to five lanes, Cape Girardeau city engineer Mark Lester said Thursday after two bids were offered on the project.

The expansion, city leaders say, will improve traffic flow to an expanding, heavily driven commercial area.

Both bids came in under the engineer's estimate of $628,000 for the city's original 4-foot widening plan that would not have included a turn lane. Lappe Cement is the apparent low bidder at $494,000. Nip Kelley issued a bid of $568,000.

The Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce, along with businessman Jim Drury, asked the city to include a turn lane to accommodate the street's busy traffic flow.

At the time of the request, the city said it would go ahead with the turn lane but only if the bids came in under the engineer's estimate.

Bid review

Lester said he couldn't be 100 percent sure that the turn lane will be added. Some further review of the bids will have to be done, but "everything should be OK," he said.

"That's awesome," Chamber of Commerce president John Mehner said. "If that happens, it's the best news I've had all day. That paves the way to get the rest of Mount Auburn five lanes."

The extra lane does come with potential unwanted consequences for some businesses in the area.

The plans indicate that the frontage road that parallels William in front of the Drury-owned Burger King will be shut off and limit Mount Auburn access to several businesses, including the Pear Tree Inn, Amoco and The Great Wall restaurant.

Joel Neikirk, director of operations for hotels and restaurants for Mid-America Hotels and Drury restaurants said the costs of closing the frontage road outweighs the benefits of a fifth lane.

If the city council approves the five-lane plan, customers would likely access those businesses through the back of the Burger King parking lot, Neikirk said.

"Then you talk about a parking lot becoming a street," Neikirk said.

Customers would also have the option of turning right on William, making another right at the next frontage road entrance and then backtracking to the businesses.

Neikirk said Jim Drury -- who deferred questions to Neikirk -- asked for the turn lane, but "with the understanding that there would be the same accessibility to the frontage road. There was never dialogue to shut off the frontage road."

Lester said there has been discussion of closing the frontage road since January of 2001.

Primed for more

The Mount Auburn stretch from William to Independence has clusters of businesses. The area is primed for development as Independence Street is being extended to Farrar Drive. Already, 1st Community Bank is being constructed across from the Zimmer Radio Group building, and other businesses will likely follow.

Add that to the fact Mount Auburn already feeds a large residential section of the city and links two of the city's major arteries -- William and Kingshighway.

As it stands now, traffic gets backed up a few hundred feet at the intersection of Independence and Mount Auburn during peak travel times.

A new traffic signal, which is part of the plan, will help that situation considerably, Lester said. It would be installed toward the end of the project, Lester said, which could be completed by August.

Lester said improved traffic flow is the main reason for the upgrade, but he said safety was also a concern.

Police traffic Sgt. Jack Wimp said the area to be improved has averaged 25 accidents per year since 2001.

Workers at businesses in the area said the fifth lane makes sense, though one said it might become more difficult to make a left turn from private drives along the stretch.

More people seemed excited about the traffic signal than the turn lane.

"The traffic light, that's what they really need," said Barb Kroenung, the lead teller at the Union Planters Bank branch at 101 Mount Auburn Road..

Julie Greaser, an employee with the Zimmer Radio Group, said, "The amount of traffic on this road is incredible. The lights will help."

Lester said the council would likely make a first-reading decision on the issue on Dec. 2. He said construction would probably begin sometime in January.

The road project is being funded through the first of two Transportation Trust Funds. The Transportation Trust Fund is a voter-approved, half-cent sales tax that is used to fund major street repairs and construction in the city.

bmiller@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127