SOUTH SPRIGG REPAIRS TO BEGIN NEXT WEEK; LANE WILL BE CLOSED

Repairs to damaged sections of South Sprigg Street near the Lone Star cement plant, likely will begin next week, a Cape Girardeau city official said Thursday.

Traffic in the area will be slowed while the repair work is in progress, and, as the work continues, at least one lane of the street will be closed.

Assistant Public Works Director Kevin McMeel said the repair work will begin where a Burlington Northern freight train derailed in March, near the main gate to the cement plant.

The derailment destroyed about 200 feet of curb and gutter, which will be replaced.

"Right now, we're not planning to close either lane of South Sprigg while this part of the project is going on," McMeel said. "But traffic will be moving slower than normal and we want make sure everyone knows about it in advance."

After the curb and gutter repairs are completed, street crews will remove slabs of damaged pavement north and south of the main entrance to the cement plant.

McMeel said the pavement has damaged during the past several years by heavy earth-moving equipment working in the rock quarries near the cement plant.

"When we start work on the two damaged sections of pavement north and south of the main gate, we'll have to close one lane of South Sprigg while the repairs are going on," he said.

McMeel said Lone Star will supply the concrete and rock for the repairs and the city will provide the labor. When South Sprigg from near Cape La Croix Creek to south of the cement plant was repaved in 1985-86, Lone Star shared the cost of the paving work with the city.

At the time, the company paid to have reinforced slabs of pavement installed at the heavy equipment crossings.

McMeel said the20street repair project was delayed this month because of flooding on the Mississippi River, which has covered part of the street in water.