MODOT PLANS LEAVE SOME APPARENT GAPS

City officials in Cape Girardeau and Jackson say they are disappointed that some highway priorities have been left off or placed well down on the Missouri Department of Transportation's project list announced last week. However, city officials say, they will continue to push for key projects.

One example of major needs not on the MoDOT list is a connector road between the new I-55/Highway 74 interchange (south of the fast-growing retail area on the west side of Cape Girardeau) and Route K (to the west of the busy intersection of Route K and I-55). Not only would this connector road open a large area for future development, it also would allow a good deal of traffic to bypass the Route K/I-55 congestion.

Another example is a new I-55 interchange to serve traffic generated by the East Main Street extension in Jackson. While this interchange is mentioned on the new list, it appears to be little more than a discussion item at this time.

And there is no comprehensive plan for needed improvements to the U.S. 61/I-55 interchange between Cape Girardeau and Jackson. Instead, MoDOT's new list shows an expense of more than $200,000 to add a northbound exit lane for I-55 traffic turning onto U.S. 61 at that busy interchange, which is known as Center Junction. And there is the possibility that southbound ramps will be improved sometime in the next five years. But any major redesign of the interchange to include U.S. 61 improvements and permanent traffic signals, for example, are tied to substantial development near the interchange.

Another way of looking at that interchange is to consider the development that would be promoted if MoDOT pushed ahead with significant improvements as soon as possible. It's a question of horse before the cart for MoDOT, which has decided development is the horse, and interchange improvements are the cart.

MoDOT also plans to spend $10 million for yet more improvements to the Route K/I-55 interchange -- the same interchange where major improvements were made just a couple of years ago to widen the Route K overpass. This planned upgrade -- to add additional exit lanes from both directions -- raises the question of why these improvements weren't combined with the earlier improvements as a package to start with.

What is probably most disappointing about MoDOT's new list of planned projects is the fact that there was strong sentiment expressed for some of the overlooked projects at public hearings. It turns out that MoDOT has some 25 to 30 "indicators" it uses in deciding to put a project on its list, things such as impact on wetlands and endangered species, noise, building displacement, safety, traffic and cost. Unfortunately, public input doesn't seem to be high on that list.