'When's my street getting fixed?'; Cape residents soon will get answer

Cape Girardeau's Transportation Trust Fund historically has funded new road and infrastructure projects in every corner of the city.

From the roundabout on Lexington Avenue to the expansion of Walnut Street to West End Boulevard -- still under construction for TTF 4 -- the projects often generate a lot of chatter among residents.

But the most popular project happening in the fifth installment of the Transportation Trust Fund, the half-cent transportation tax renewed by voters earlier this month, isn't a road expansion or a new street. City leaders have said comments from the public seem to indicate the Neighborhood Street Repair Program is generating the most excitement so far.

The program, a first in the city's 20 years of TTF, was made available because of funding held from a previous transportation project. The $3.2 million that will be invested into longer-lasting repairs to the neighborhood streets originally was set aside for the Armstrong Drive project, proposed during TTF 3. A Century Farm in the proposed path of the project led to steep right-of-way costs, leaving the city to decide -- after putting the question to residents during public meetings earlier this year -- not to pursue the project.

But even before the Aug. 4 vote to renew TTF, members of the Cape Girardeau City Council have said constituents consistently ask them about neighborhood street repairs.

Councilman Wayne Bowen said he's heard requests from residents to look into repairs of the streets in their neighborhood since he first was elected in 2013. More recently, Councilman Mark Lanzotti said he heard from people less than a day after the election, wondering when work would begin.

"I had people from about three different neighborhoods ask, 'So when are they going to fix those streets in the neighborhood repair project?'" he said.

Council members have said they also frequently hear the question: "Is my street on the list?"

In time, residents should be able to answer that question for themselves. Deputy city manager Molly Hood said the list of streets to be repaired through the program eventually will be listed in a chart that will be available on the city's website. People will be able to determine what streets are featured and an estimated timeline for beginning construction.

Before that list is released, city staff have to go through the proposed streets and finish an evaluation.

"While we've been spending the last year putting this together, we've received a lot of different requests from neighborhoods for repairs," Hood said. "So what we're doing now, we're listing all those repairs in a spreadsheet, first of all, making sure those repairs aren't already on a list."

The city also set aside nearly half of the $24 million it expects to generate over the next five years to fund general repair projects.

Hood said some of the streets that have been nominated for repairs could possibly be on the list for the road-repair program that takes place every year, thanks to TTF funds.

The next step is to look at each street's pavement condition index rating. The index provides a rating of 0 to 100, with zero being the worst possible condition. Hood said crews went through last year to evaluate streets and update ratings, but will check them again for further deterioration before moving forward on the repair list.

"Then we'll chart everything on a map and see how the various repair projects might be grouped together to achieve maximum effectiveness and efficiencies," she said. "But we also want to minimize disruptions to our residents. We know there are some neighborhoods that need an awful lot of work, but we'll have to look at whether we do it all at the same time -- which will be very disruptive -- or if we phase that out over one or two years."

City staff will spend the rest of this year reviewing and prioritizing streets, then preparing bids for the work. Hood said residents can expect to see the first surge of construction next spring. Whether a street is scheduled for work under the Neighborhood Street Repair Program or the annual concrete and asphalt repair program, she warns some patience will be necessary.

"It takes a lot of planning and coordination, and then oftentimes these contracts, for our annual asphalt overlay, they include numerous streets," Hood said. "It's up to the contractor to determine in what order they do those streets."

Concrete and asphalt repair took place in more than 50 locations this spring and summer.

Hood also pointed out the money set aside for general repairs will be collected over five years, starting in January, so it will take time before the city has enough revenue to begin some projects.

srinehart@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3641

Pertinent address:

Cape Girardeau, Mo.