Cape Girardeau is investing millions in city street repairs

Our citizens have wisely supported our Transportation Trust Fund for over 25 years. We are currently into TTF-6, approved in 2020 which began collecting funds as of Jan. 1, 2021.

I was a member of the committee that proposed to the voters TTF-1 in 1995.

The proposal offered a specific list of projects to be started and/or completed within the following five years. (TRUST.) We pledged that the program would be "pay as you go" -- that no funds would be used for bonding -- all would be used for new/improved streets for our city.

I have been involved in every five-year renewal and have developed a real passion for this important program. Again, our citizens have voted to approve each renewal due to the fact that pledged projects have been followed and completed as promised to the voters.

Given the pledge to pay as you go, we must collect the tax money before it can be spent, thus giving lag time to each five-year program. We are in year 26 of this program which has enabled our city to invest well over $100 million in new and improved streets.

The recent Southeast Missourian article ("City Council gets positive report on Cape street conditions," published May 4) as to the current status of our streets has caused some discontent among some of our citizens.

I realize that when anyone is driving on a rough/potholed street they feel many or all of our streets are in a deteriorated state, which is not the case. It is a fact that each year that a street is updated and repaired that all other streets in our large system become one year older.

Each TTF five-year program has included an increasing dollar amount for street repair. I submit that staff, council and the committee did not leave enough funding for repair in past TTF plans.

Therefore our TTF6 plan approved by voters in 2020 devoted over 77% of the $25 million plan to repairs of streets.

• Concrete, Asphalt, Sidewalk repair: $13 million
• Bertling-Perryville to Big Bend: $1 million
• Lexington-Carolina to Sherwood: $1.2 million
• Lexington-Cape Rock to Sprigg: $1.2 million
• Sprigg-Rt. 74 to Southern Expressway: $2.9 million

Total devoted to repair: $19.3 million (77.2% of total)

I urge all citizens who observe a serious pothole to report it through the city website at cityofcape.org. I also encourage the City of Cape and the Southeast Missourian to update our citizens on a more regular basis the progress of these very important improvements.

Harry Rediger is the former mayor of Cape Girardeau.