FINAL HEARING ON HIGHWAY 34-72 IMPROVEMENTS TUESDAY

JACKSON -- After 28 months of weighing alternative routes and tussling with public officials over how to ease traffic congestion between Jackson and Cape Girardeau, the Missouri Department of Transportation is getting ready to design its solution: the widening of Highway 34-72 from two to five lanes.

A public hearing Tuesday will be the final step to completing the location study for the proposed improvements, paving the way for the project's design phase to begin. That process will be followed by right of way acquisition in 2002 and 2003, according to project manager DawnRae Clark.

A date for beginning construction remains uncertain, depending on funding available in 2004-2005. Because the project falls into a regional category it is not MoDOT's highest funding priority.

Clark said the location of the project is one reason its timetable is so lengthy. "Because of the detail involved in an urban setting like this, it takes a long time."

Property owners who will be affected by the project were invited to make comments at a public hearing last fall. The hearing Tuesday is for anyone interested in the project. "We haven't heard from the people who drive and work on the route," Clark said.

The public hearing will be held from 5-8:30 p.m. at the Jackson Middle School Cafeteria, 1651 W. Independence St. in Jackson. A court stenographer will be present to take down comments, which also can be submitted in writing.

MoDOT chose the plan from nine options, most of which would have routed traffic around Jackson. MoDOT has said the decision was based on cost and safety issues -- part of the high volume of traffic consists of cars and buses taking students to nearby schools.

Half the traffic on Highway 34-72 is going to Jackson, the other half is going to Cape Girardeau, Clark says.

"There was a need to provide a safer, more efficient way for either of those parties to reach their destinations."

The Jackson Board of Alderman passed a resolution last October opposing the upgrade on the grounds that other projects are needed more, such as an East Main Street interchange at I-55. The board favors widening the road to three lanes at this point because most of the right of way for three lanes already has been purchased. That would leave more money for projects the board considers more pressing.

The project has an estimated cost of $16-17 million, including the purchase of right of way.

Twenty-six houses and businesses would be affected along the 3 1/2-mile stretch of road between the intersection of Highways 34 and 72 west of Jackson and the intersection of Highways 25 and 34-72 with U.S. 61. In some cases, houses and businesses will be bought and torn down. Other property owners will have to sell some of their land.

Aerial photographs of the area will be taken to begin the design phase to "get the lay of the land," Clark said. MoDOT already has done much of the design work, Clark said.