WILL PROMISE OF NEW BRIDGE BE FULFILLED? YOU CAN ANSWER

Within days of Gov. John Ashcroft's signature on the 6 cent gas tax measure overwhelmingly passed by the legislature, progressive things are under way with roads and bridges in Southeast Missouri and around the state. Friday's spectacular weather was hospitable to the federal, state and local officials who turned out for initial work on the eastward extension of the Nash Road project into the SEMO Port Authority.

As reported elsewhere in today's edition, initial survey work on Nash Road has begun already. Officials meeting Friday with Port Director Alan Maki included the Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife agency, the Missouri Highway and Transportation Department (MHTD) and a private evluator of archeological artifacts that may or may not be on site.

"Progress as Promised."

Another transportation project vital to the Cape Girardeau/Southern Illinois economy is the new Mississippi River Bridge at Cape Girardeau. Missouri's funds are definitely committed for replacement of the 64-year-old span, and according to MHTD District Engineer Freeman McCullah, work can be accelerated with the additional monies. Still, on such a project, as the saying goes, "it takes two to tango."

The sticking point to further immediate progress on this bridge, according to highway officials, is the lack of a definite commitment (to this point) of funding from the State of Illinois. On Friday past, this newspaper has been told, Illinois Governor Jim Edgar received a list of his state's highway projects with recommendations from his Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT). The Cape bridge is on the list that went to Gov. Edgar, but it is Edgar's task this week to rank the competing projects in order of priority.

There is no question that Illinois has the funds necessary to commit their portion of this bridge project. They have a much higher gas taxthan Missouri; they also have four Members of Congress on the relevant congressional committees that wrote the federal highway bill, which established the new formula for doling out federal gas tax monies. This means that Illinois made out very well in the new allocation formula for that money.

The question is, what priority will Gov. Edgar assign to the Cape bridge? Just about everything that can be done from the west side of the Mississippi River, with our federal, state and local officials, has been done.

During the last few days, many leaders have swung into action to secure a favorable response on our bridge project. In recent days:

Gov. Ashcroft has spoken with Gov. Edgar about this project; Ashcroft's Chief of Staff, Rich McClure an Illinois native who's well acquainted with Edgar and his staff has spoken with top aides to the Illinois governor; Rep. Bill Emerson has spoken with officials at the White House and with at least one well-placed congressional colleague from Illinois; MHTD Commissioner John L. Oliver Jr. (who sounded the original alarm about Illinois funding) has been involved at various levels; MHTD Chief Engineer Wayne Muri has been working with his Illinois counterparts and with federal officials while on a Washington, D.C. trip this past week; Cape Girardeau City Manager J. Ronald Fischer has been in direct contact with officials at various levels; RCGA chief Walt Wildman has been actively working to make contacts with Illinois officials; and Gary Rust and yours truly of this newspaper (together with many others of whom we're unaware) have made all the calls and contacts we can think of to secure a favorable answer from officials in the Land of Lincoln.

This is a matter of vital importance to Cape Girardeau and to the entire regional economy. We cannot enter the fiercely competitive economy of the 21st century hobbled by a dangerously narrow, functionally obsolete bridge that's now halfway through its seventh decade of life. We must get cracking on the new bridge.

What You Can Do:

Contact your friends and business acquaintances in Illinois. If you know well-placed civic, businesss or political leaders in Illinois, contact them immediately. Stress to them the importance of this bridge project to the depressed economy of Southern Illinois. Ask them to contact Gov. Edgar's office directly and immediately no later than Monday and Tuesday of this week. This one's just too important to let slide.

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Saturday night, March 7, this newspaper will join other sponsors of the first annual Indian Alumni Shootout basketball benefit for the Cape Girardeau Civic Center. Tickets are $3 (adults), $1 (children) in advance, and $4 and $2 at the door. The action starts at 7:30 at Central High's gymnasium, and will feature former Indian hardcourt greats playing against each other.

The idea for this worthwhile benefit came from former Indian players themselves. Come on out this weekend for a good time, for a good cause. Tickets can be purchased at our 301 Broadway location (335-6611), and at Schnuck's, Camelot Music and Bi-State Southern locations.