La Salle Avenue groundbreaking held Thursday on Interstate 55

For the past year, when Jackson resident Susan Stroder has driven on East Main Street in Jackson to the interchange near mile marker 102 along Interstate 55, she said she has watched "history in the making."

Her statement echoes the message Major Jay Knudson gave at a groundbreaking ceremony Thursday for construction of La Salle Avenue, which will connect Route W in northern Cape Girardeau to East Main Street in Jackson. Until La Salle Avenue is built, residents in Jackson who commute to Cape Girardeau will still have to use I-55 to get to work in the morning.

The ceremony began at 9 a.m. on the Cape Girardeau side of I-55, near where the construction will begin, with Knudtson, Ken Eftink, director of development services for Cape Girardeau, Dr. Ken Dobbins, Southeast Missouri State University president and Dutch Meyr.

Stroder lives about mile and a half from the interchange and commutes to her job at Southeast Missouri Hospital.

"It's going be a better way to Cape," Stroder said. "It will help save gas and money."

Growing city

The construction complements the expected future growth of Cape Girardeau.

"Cape Girardeau is extending north and southwest," said former councilman Matt Hopkins.

Southeast Missouri State University president Dr. Ken Dobbins said the new road's effect on the city will be noticeable in 10 years or so.

Other growth and land development has taken place near mile marker 102. Whispering Oaks Subdivision is about a quarter-mile south of the road, and Jaycee Municipal Golf Course is on Perry Avenue near Route W.

The new La Salle Avenue's 1.95-mile length will stem from the road that MoDOT built as part of the interchange. The road will change from four to two lanes as it stretches toward Route W. Close to the highway, commercial development is expected along the northern side of the road, and on the southern side is land owned by the university.

Eftink said nobody is under contract to commercially develop along the northern side of La Salle Avenue.

"It could happen any time, knowing the infrastructure is going to be there," Eftink said. "If somebody started today, they could have it completed by the time the road was completed."

University's plans

Southeast will also be affected by La Salle Avenue's construction. On a university Web site, "The Rumor Mill @ Southeast,[CloseDouble] a question was posed about the use of the university's land, which is designated as a mixed-use park under the name Technology Village.

The Web site's response was that the university never expected development of the project in the short term, but as a 15- to 20-year project. "University officials consider these efforts [the construction of La Salle Avenue] major for the communities [Cape Girardeau and Jackson] this summer and will be key to the success of the Village," the Web site said.

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A few years back there were plans for retail stores, restaurants and a minor league baseball team to develop along the northern side of LaSalle, Dobbins said. This kind of development was meant to fit the needs of people in the area. But retail sales were "somewhat flat" in the following years, so the plans didn't materialize. If the economy improves, the plans may go forward.

"It doesn't mean they aren't going to happen," Dobbins said. "It's an economy-driven expansion. It brings revenue to Jackson and Cape city and to Cape County." Other plans for the area include recreational areas and a senior retirement community center. Dobbins said he could not disclose which businesses the city was working with.

"We're working with several possible tenants for the research village," Dobbins said. "We have $4.5 million in the Lewis and Clarke Discovery Initiative for a future project to work on. This includes an incubator facility that would allow small, new businesses to grow as a business in Cape Girardeau with the assurance of provided space and resources in a 'shared cost concept,'" Dobbins said.

"People keep asking when this will be built," Knudson said. "Jackson has their side built." As of now, Knudson expects development of La Salle to be completed by Christmas 2008.

Approval of funds

About three years ago, Hopkins contacted Dutch Meyr, who was with Norwald Corporation, the company that owned the land the city of Cape Girardeau will build through. They negotiated a deal for land to be developed in what Meyr referred to as "just cows, pastures and woods."

With Jackson having completed its connection to I-55, and Cape Girardeau County hoping to get funding for the project, Knudson said former senator Jim Talent, Sen. Kit Bond and Rep. Jo Ann Emerson helped ensure funds for the avenue's construction would be approved.

Construction costs were about a million dollars less than the first estimate indicated, Knudson said. At first construction was estimated at $4.5 million, but later, Dumey Contracting Inc., the engineering company constructing the road, said it would only take $3.4 million.

The money to build the LaSalle intersection with Route W comes from a 2005 extension on a half-cent sales tax, part of the Transportation Trust Fund.