OFFICIALS MAP OUT ROAD NEEDS; IMPROVEMENT PLAN DRAWS AREA INPUT

MARBLE HILL -- Missouri Highway and Transportation District 10 Engineer Freeman McCullah said there were two reasons Marble Hill was chosen for a public meeting to determine priorities for the Missouri Highway Commission's 15-year highway improvements program in Southeast Missouri.

"The first is because Marble Hill is the geographic center of our 14-district Southeast Missouri area," said McCullah. "The other reason is we wanted everyone who came today to have to drive over some of the highways that need to be improved."

A large number of representatives from county and municipal governments, chambers of commerce and the Regional Commerce and Growth Association attended Monday's 9 a.m. meeting, the first of three that were held at the Bollinger County Courthouse.

Among those attending the morning session were members of a delegation from Cape Girardeau, Jackson, and Scott City, plus officials from other Southeast Missouri counties and municipalities in the district's 14-county area. Other sessions were held at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.

The hearings were conducted by McCullah and John Oliver of Cape Girardeau, a member of the highway commission.

The commission has announced plans for a number of major highway construction and improvement projects in Southeast Missouri. They include upgrading Highways 34, 72, and 25, which will converge in the Cape-Jackson area. In addition the commission plans to construct an extension of Nash Road east to the Southeast Missouri Regional Port Authority and a new East Outer Road from Nash Road south over Ramsey Creek. It will connect with East Outer Road in Scott City, giving the city an additional route in and out of town.

RCGA Executive Director Walt Wildman called the commission's 15-year highway program "one of the most exciting highway improvement programs in 30 years."

Larry Payne, representing the delegation of city and public officials from Cape Girardeau, Jackson and Scott City, asked the highway commission to conduct a detailed transportation study of the area to determine where new highways will be routed so advance planning can be made by political subdivisions and industries. "This is a great opportunity to do this one right," said Payne.

Besides endorsing the projects in the commission's program, representatives from Cape Girardeau, Jackson and Scott City also proposed specific projects within each community to be included in the program in case extra funding becomes available.

Jackson Mayor Carlton Meyer asked the commission to consider a new interchange at I-25 to connect with an extension of East Main in Jackson and a new route that would link with Highway 177 at the north side of Cape Girardeau.

Meyer also cited other improvements endorsed by the Jackson Board of Aldermen. They include: upgrading Highway 25 to four-lane from Jackson south to Route K at Gordonville and south to the Arkansas line; widening of Hope Street (Highway 61) from East Jackson Boulevard north to East Main; construction of a four-lane Highway 72 from East Jackson and Hope Street westward to Fredericktown and Jefferson City; and upgrading Highway 61 north from Washington Street to I-55 at Fruitland.

Jackson City Administrator Carl Talley said the improvements in the 15-year program are the key to commerce that will mean more jobs in Southeast Missouri.

Southeast Missouri Port Authority Executive Director Allan Maki said just the announcement of a new port road has created new economic development at the port.

"As a result of the announcement of the new port road, we have reached agreement with four new companies and three existing ones at the port to create over 120 new jobs, and a $10 million to 15 million capital investment in the next few years," Maki said. "In the next five years there is a potential for more than 200 jobs and $30 million worth of capital investment. It does work, and the road isn't even built. Just knowing the (port) road is going to be built has helped."

Bob Hendrix, executive president of the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce, said improvement of Highways 72, 24, and 25 is vital to the entire economy of Southeast Missouri. He also asked the commission to consider several local projects, including a redesign of the Highway 61-I-55 Fruitland interchange that carries a large amount of truck traffic from the Procter and Gamble and M&W plants. "It's a bad interchange," Hendrix said.

He also asked the commission to relocate Highway 177 through Cape Girardeau, extending it south to Nash Road and the port, which would give Procter and Gamble and M&W a direct route to the port.

Hendrix also supported the proposed I-55 interchange that would link East Main in Jackson with Highway 177 in Cape Girardeau. He also asked the commission to consider a link between a new Highway 74 bridge route through Cape Girardeau to I-55 to Route K west of the interstate. Hendrix said this would allow through bridge traffic to avoid congested intersections.

Cherie Hillman, president of the Scott City Chamber of Commerce, asked the commission to consider extending Nash Road westward to connect with Highway 25 near Blomeyer, and that Route N be extended northward across the Diversion Channel to tie in with Highway 74 at Cape Girardeau, giving Scott City an emergency route independent of I-55 to get to and from Cape Girardeau.

Oak Ridge School Superintendent Roger Tatum said a new interchange at Route E and I-55 would reduce traffic bottlenecks that develop each day at the Fruitland interchange. Tatum said the new interchange would also allow for future growth in the area north of Jackson and Fruitland.

He said the original plans for I-55 called for an interchange at Route E. Tatum urged priority for the project because it could be started relatively soon and would give people an opportunity to see some immediate effects of the approval of the 6-cents gas tax increase.

During a break in the session, McCullah said attendance at the 9 a.m. meeting was a good indication of the widespread interest and support of the commission's 15-year plan for Southeast Missouri.

"It is also highly commendable that Cape Girardeau, Jackson and Scott City are working together to provide a plan that will benefit each of the cities and the two counties," McCullah said. "This type of cooperative effort is unique in the state, but a recognition of the fact that with the highway system we're going to develop for Southeast Missouri, there will be more and more planning concepts based on regionalism rather than localism."

McCullah and Oliver said the highway department and commission support the proposed detailed transportation study for the Cape Girardeau-Jackson and north Scott County area. Oliver said the study would be a first for a rural area of the state.

Oliver and McCullah said a detailed transportation study would give government and industry planners some idea of where the new highways will be built during the next 15 years so corridors could be preserved and future industrial development planned along and near the new highways.

"If we can show in Southeast Missouri where the new highways are coming, that makes a big difference to those businesses," said McCullah. "As the Cape, Jackson, and Scott City area expands and develops, it would benefit them to have the location of the new highways clearly defined so they could plan and build around them."