REGION OFFERS RIVER, AIR, ROAD, RAIL TRANSPORTATION

The area is served by major rail lines, including the Burlington Northern and Union Pacific railroads.

Cape girardeau's location on the river benefits the city and its businesses with greater transportation access.

Cape Girardeau offers a wide variety of transportation choices to and from the city -- river, rail, highway and air.

"This is important when a manufacturer or retailer is looking to relocate here," said Mitch Robinson, executive director of the Cape Girardeau Area Recruitment Association.

An available workforce is one of the top subjects when companies start determining the feasibility of a relocation or new business in any area.

The global competition for labor, particularly for knowledgeable workers, has driven many companies to reposition and repackage themselves for attracting and retaining talented labor resources.

The total labor force within a 40-mile area is more than 140,000 people. Cape Girardeau and Perry counties have the lowest employment rates of the 14 counties throughout the Southeast Missouri areas, but a number of workers are still available here, along with various training programs to train them.

Second on the list of attractions for new industry and business is transportation.

Here, beyond any doubt, Cape Girardeau receives an "A."

"The Cape Girardeau is at an advantage there," said Robinson.

He explains:

* "We have railroad transportation, running through the downtown area and the regional port."

* "We're located on the Federal Interstate Highway system (Interstate 55)."

* "The airport is located just south of the city."

* "And the port offers great access to river transportation."

In addition to I-55, the city and area are served by U.S. 61, Missouri 74 and 177 and Illinois Routes 3 and 146. The interstate links the area with Memphis and St. Louis, and 30 miles to the south, I-55 links travelers to Interstate 57, north into Illinois.

In the city, a number of land transportation choices are available. A taxi company serves the community; several auto rental and lease firms are located here and the city gets its bus service from Greyhound Bus lines. A total of 13 motor freight common carriers serve the area, and Bootheel Area Rapid Transportation (BART) offers car and van service to and from the airport in St. Louis.

The area is served by major rail lines, including the Burlington Northern and Union Pacific Railroads. The Missouri Pacific Cotton Belt Railroad crosses the Mississippi river just south of Cape Girardeau. An average of 50 freight trains a day crosses the Mississippi River.

The Mississippi River, largest in North America, runs along the city's eastern boundary and offers a number of transportation choices -- barges, tow boat docking and the Southeast Missouri Regional Port Authority, which acts as a major distribution point for grain and petroleum shipments.

The Southeast Missouri Port has 80 acres of land available for new industry and 70 acres already leased to existing industries. The Port, a 350-acre complex, is centered around an 1,800-foot long slackwater harbor, with a 230-foot wide cargo dock and minimum depth of 12 feet.

The Port, located at Mile 48 on the Upper Mississippi, can operate throughout the year and is considered the northernmost ice-free port on the Mississippi River. The SEMO Port railroad and eight-mile carrier-switching rails serve the port and a surrounding industrial area. It connects with the main lines of the two major railroad.

The facility is three miles east of Interstate 55, which connects it to Chicago, St. Louis, Memphis and New Orleans.

The Cape Girardeau Regional Airport has runways of 6,500 and 4,000 feet, providing amply runways for most classes of business, commercial and moderate sized cargo airport.

An airport service is available from Cape Girardeau to St. Louis.

Having all four types of transportation is a big plus, said Robinson.