FIRST STRETCH OF HIGHWAY 74 WILL BE OPENED NEXT WEEK

The first segment of the Highway 74 bridge route across Cape Girardeau will be opened next week.

Bob Wilson of the Missouri Highway and Transportation Department said the four-lane road from Sprigg to Kingshighway should be opened Jan. 8 or 9. Completion of the segment was delayed a week because of cold and snow, he said.

Crews need to paint road stripes, complete safety fencing and clean up construction debris, Wilson said.

"We're almost ready," he said. "The signals at Sprigg, West End and Kingshighway are ready to go. There are a few other things that need to be done this week."

In addition to striping and removing debris, crews will be stretching a chain-link fence separating Highway 74 from the residential area between Sprigg and West End Boulevard.

"There are some safety concerns with the residential area being close by," Wilson said. "We didn't want anyone trying to cross the highway."

Motorists traveling Highway 74 from Sprigg to Kingshighway will encounter only one intersection stop: West End Boulevard, where a traffic light with in-ground sensors has been erected. The other 17 blocks are free of intersections or merging traffic.

Highway 74 from Sprigg to Kingshighway is one of several segments of the route that will link Interstate 55 with a new Mississippi River bridge.

Other segments of the new highway include a stretch between Kingshighway and Interstate 55 and between the new bridge entrance just south of the existing bridge and Sprigg. Other segments include an I-55 overpass and on-off ramps.

The bridge and highway will cost $85.7 million.

To build the bridge, Missouri and Illinois have committed more than $6.5 million. The remaining $52 million for the bridge is expected to be contributed by the federal government in the next few months.

Highway department officials said bridge construction should begin May 1, with the allocation of federal funds.

If the federal funds are secured soon and few construction delays are experienced, a completion date for the entire project would be just after the turn of the century.