Transportation planning is goal of MPO

Ten years ago, officials of local governments hoped the Cape Girardeau area would be among the 33 new urbanized areas designated then by the U.S. Census Bureau. We didn't make it. But now, following another decennial census, officials of Jackson, Cape Girardeau, Scott City, Cape County and Scott County have formed a committee to lay the groundwork for a Metropolitan Planning Organization in hopes the area will be designated an urbanized area. Census officials say they will announce the designations in March.

Local leaders say the main benefit of an MPO would be a stronger voice on transportation projects in the region.

Missouri Department of Transportation officials, who are helping with the MPO project, say they feel local cities and counties always have had good input into highway projects. But some local elected officials counter that MoDOT has been known to make choices not favored locally.

If the Census Bureau decides there is an area in and around Cape Girardeau that has 50,000 population and a population density of at least 500 per square mile, it will designate this to be an urbanized area. Once that is done, the MPO can be formed.

The MPO would have a budget of more than $100,000 a year. About 90 percent of that would come from federal sources to pay for planning staff and operations. The rest, or an estimated $18,000, would have to be contributed locally. The main emphasis of the MPO would be transportation planning.

There are critical transportation issues on the horizon. The Nash Road interchange on I-55, the development of a major east-west highway, rebuilding the Center Junction interchange between Cape Girardeau and Jackson, the planned East Main Street interchange between Jackson and Cape Girardeau on I-55 and the future extension of Highway 74 on the west side of I-55 are just a few of the projects likely to be considered.