The extension of East Main Street to Interstate 55 and construction of an interchange at the interstate should be the city's top long-range transportation priority, say members of a committee advising Jackson on its traffic study.

The stakeholders committee rates the extension of Shawnee Boulevard from Ridge Road to Greensferry Road as the second priority. The city's traffic consultants made that recommendation after studying vehicular movement in the city over the past year. Combined with the extension of Deerwood Drive (Shawnee Boulevard) from Greensferry Road to High Street (fourth in the list of priorities), this project would create a road system that circles the northeast part of the city.

The engineering firm Crawford, Bunte, Brammeier surveyed the 18 members of the advisory committee who attended its last meeting Aug. 27. A summary of the survey's findings was released to the media Friday.

Game plan

The company said the priorities give the city a game plan for spending money on capital projects.

The committee's third priority was an extension of Jackson Trail from Lee Avenue to South Farmington Road/Route PP, creating a southern loop that would accommodate commercial traffic.

Providing connections from Lee Avenue to Oklahoma or Highway 25, which would help businesses in the area, was given a low priority. A proposal to provide more sidewalks and trails in the city also did not receive strong support.

Almost all those who took the survey rated the East Main Street extension No. 1. The I-55 interchange has been put on the Missouri Department of Transportation schedule of projects, although it has not yet been funded.

The list holds no surprises, said public works director Rodney Bollinger.

"It seems like everybody's priorities are similar, from P&Z and the stakeholders and the public," he said. "It seems like they're all kind of lining up."

A public presentation of the traffic consultants' ideas was given after the advisory committee meeting in August. The traffic consultants expect to deliver the final plan to the city in late November and to present the results at another public meeting.

Intersection reconstruction

The city is looking for an engineering company to take on one of the consultants' initial recommendations -- a redesign of the intersection of Shawnee Boulevard and East Jackson Boulevard and changes at the intersection of Shawnee Boulevard and Old Cape Road. The plan would provide a dual left-turn lane from Shawnee onto East Jackson Boulevard and would remove stop signs from Shawnee at the Old Cape Road intersection.

Bollinger said the project will amount to a total reconstruction of the Shawnee-East Jackson Boulevard intersection, with new concrete pavement, curb and gutter. Construction is expected to be under way in the spring of 2003.

The rest of the top 10 priorities, in order, are:

Widening and improving the intersection of High Street and Independence Street.

Extension of West Lane from Alpine Drive to Independence.

Widening and upgrading Hope Street from Jackson Boulevard (Highway 34) to Washington Street.

Extension of Jackson Trail from South Farmington (Route PP) to West Lane.

Widening and upgrading East Main Street from Old Cape Road to Shawnee Boulevard.

Construction of Oak Hill between East Main Street and East Jackson Boulevard.

sblackwell@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182