The long wait is over. The next section of Lexington Avenue -- connecting the arterial between Perryville Road and Cape Rock Drive -- is slated to open at 9 a.m. today.

The general contractor, Kelley Equipment Co. of Cape Girardeau, has had to battle the elements and the clock to complete paving Lexington between Perryville Road and Concord Place. Now the work is completed, albeit a month behind schedule.

City Planner Kent Bratton said the contract for the next segment of the route, which will connect Lexington to Old Sprigg Street Road, should be ready for bids soon.

"We're basically dealing with a single property owner over to Old Sprigg," Bratton said. "The next major segment after that will take the route along Melody Lane all the way out to Highway 177.

"That will probably be bid as a single contract. At the same time, we'll try to bid a separate contract for the extension of Sprigg Street north to Lexington."

While construction of the route spreads east, development on the already opened western edge of Lexington continues at a rapid pace.

From Perryville Road west, connections with streets into Greenbriar and Belleridge subdivisions have opened those areas to the arterial street.

Also, a second access from Woodland Hills on Belleridge Pike was connected when the new street was built.

Farther west, three congregations have purchased property to build churches on both sides of Lexington.

Bratton said construction already has started on the First Pentecostal Church on Lexington at the northwest corner of Belleridge subdivision.

"Then across the street and down the road a little way, the Christ Presbyterian Church has bought acreage across from Abbey Road," he said. "On the west side of Lexington, across from the Presbyterian Church site, Cape LaCroix United Methodist Church owns a large tract."

The church sites are situated between subdivisions that have been nearly completely developed since Lexington was put in.

A new subdivision has been proposed by developer G. Keith Deimund on the east side of Lexington, west of Belleridge.

The city's planning and zoning commission has recommended approval of the proposed development, Lexington Place, which includes single-family and two-family zoning.

All of the property that fronts Lexington would remain a single-family residential district, and duplexes would be built abutting a subdivision that already includes some two-family zoning. Initially, about half of the almost 90 lots in the development were proposed for duplexes.

At the intersection of Route W and Lexington, Union Electric has purchased property. There, a new substation will be installed to upgrade electrical service to that area.

And at Wednesday's planning and zoning commission meeting, Vernon Rhodes was given the nod to proceed with plans to build a "go-cart amusement facility" at the Lexington-Kingshighway intersection adjacent to World of Honda.

Bratton said the type of development spurred by Lexington Avenue is "right in line" with what city officials expected.

"The churches bought up large tracts of land so that even though it's a single use, it's used up a lot of the available land out there," he said. "I think that will help generate less daily residential traffic out there, which is what you want with an arterial."

Bratton said he didn't expect the vacant tract east of Woodland Hills on the north side of Lexington, owned by Truman Cole, to be developed for "quite some time."

The city planner said he anticipates developer Stephen Strom will eventually develop Northfield subdivision farther south to Lexington.

"He has had some brief contact with us about starting right there on Lexington, but nothing's been proposed yet," Bratton said.

The only other undeveloped tract of land between Perryville Road and Kingshighway is a section between Greenbriar subdivision and Perryville Road on the south side of Lexington.

"There have been some discussions about possible development through there as well," Bratton added. "Everybody I run into seems to be tickled to death with the way development's gone along Lexington."