OAK RIDGE INTERCHANGE NEEDS ANOTHER OFFICIAL SHOT IN ARM

It wasn't all that many months ago that the Cape Girardeau County Commission was asked by the state highway department to decide whether a new interchange on I-55 should be built for Jackson or Oak Ridge.

Until, then the commission had supported interchanges for both locations. But it appeared that unless one was given priority status, neither interchange might get built. So the commission studied the situation, took traffic counts and talks to dozens of individuals. In the end, it picked the Oak Ridge interchange while continuing strong support for a new Jackson connection between the existing exits at Fruitland and the Highway 34-72-U.S. 61 link.

It isn't that the Missouri Department of Transportation doesn't have a good deal of history regarding an interchange at Oak Ridge. Folks there first made a formal request back in 1966, several years before the then-new I-55 was open along that stretch. Over the years, repeated appeals have been made for the interchange. Currently, Oak Ridge motorists must go south to the Fruitland interchange or north to Biehle to get on the interstate.

This lack of a direct hookup has created more than its share of problems. High on the list of concerns is public safety. Ambulance crews and firefighters all have harrowing stories about delays in providing quick assistance because there is no interchange at Oak Ridge.

When the county commission made its decision at the highway department's request, most people probably thought that the wheels had been set in motion for the interchange. Indeed, highway engineers have completed the design work, estimating the cost of the interchange to be $2 million.

But the Department of Transportation has changed its method of seeking public input on highway projects, and it the Oak Ridge connection again needs official support. A department representative told a recent meeting of the Interstate 55-Route E Interchange Committee that the county commission and the Southeast Missouri Regional Economic Planning and Development Commission should again go on record in support of the interchange.

Under the best of scenarios, the interchange wouldn't be built until 2000, providing all the official hurdles have been cleared -- the biggest being coming up with funding to put the project on a construction timetable.

The county commission and regional economic development commission should act swiftly to let the Department of Transportation know that the Oak Ridge interchange is still a high priority.