The road to progress: Completion of Center Junction leads to business upswing, potential for future development

The diverging diamond interchange constructed off mile marker 99 between Jackson and Cape Girardeau was completed ahead of schedule, but not without creating some setback for local businesses during construction. Its opening has now led to an upswing, say some business owners.

MoDOT began construction on the junction — the replacement of two highway overpasses and the development of the new interchange — in 2020 at the same time COVID-19 cases in the United States began to rise, along with the price of materials for construction. The process included replacing and redesigning aging bridge structures. The project totaled $17.4 million and was completed by Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) and Penzel Construction of Jackson.

Setbacks

Many drivers, who commuted through exit 99 to work, experienced an increase in their drive time traveling to and from work during the construction.

During the second week of Oct. 2020 the construction encountered “dirt problems” on the north and southbound ends of the construction area according to Penzel project manager Howard Hemman. The problems arose from the dirt containing too much moisture in order to complete final concrete pours.

Weather also interrupted work on the bridges and interchange periodically during construction.

Business activity around the junction

Phillips 66-Winks gas station, located at 2505 Veterans Memorial Dr. in Cape Girardeau, opened in Dec. 2020 in the middle of the center junction construction. The Phillips 66 gas station initially made little money, according to store general manager Stan Cutler. But that soon changed.

“As soon as people kind of got used to the whole configuration, it became night and day. We’ve gotten so much busier,” Cutler said.

According to Cutler, Winks is under different ownership, and he believes the location of the gas station was decided on because of the close proximity to the Cape Girardeau Sportsplex, located at 2526 Jim Drury Way in Cape Girardeau.

The gas station recently installed Tesla Supercharger stations, which charges Tesla cars in 25 to 45 minutes. The car’s dashboard application notifies drivers of the level of charge of the car and where nearby charge stations are located.

“We’re definitely on that app now, so while they are driving down the interstate and they are getting low and see we are the only one [with Tesla branded chargers], they make us their destination,” Carver said.

Winks is one of several locations in Cape Girardeau that includes charging stations for electric automobiles. Other locations include Schnucks, Cape Century Casino, Best Western Plus Cape Girardeau/Jackson and AC Brase Arena.

Best Western Plus of Jackson and Cape Girardeau, located at 3003 S. Old Orchard Road, in Jackson also began construction of the hotel around the same time as Winks and experienced the same decrease then increase in business as construction ramped up and then was completed.

Tinki Patel, assistant manager of the Best Western location, said the junction looks great and it is a lot easier to get around.

“Construction did hurt us a little bit,” she said. “People who are a little bit older were trying to avoid getting into the construction zone. There are still some days where it’s not as good as others, but the completion of the junction has also made it better for people to attend events at the sportsplex during the weekends. It helps them get around to events sooner.”

Patel said she appreciates how the traffic flow has improved since the junction was completed and the simplicity of driving her route to work each day.

Janet and Blake Ackmen, owners of Delmonico’s in Jackson, had worries prior to the center junction construction that they would have to close the restaurant’s doors due to the pandemic. The construction process both disrupted and added to their business, and Blake noticed a significant change in his drive to work each day.

“You’re looking at a lot of different factors, mask mandates, flare-ups, breakouts and other things. As far as the junction though, the workers would come in, and I appreciate that on the positive side,” he said. “Personally, driving through it was like a big city traffic rush on some days.

“But, I do understand that, it’s growing pains and part of the growing process is taking on a little bit of that.”

Blake also spoke on the setbacks Penzel Construction and MoDOT faced during construction.

“With construction you always have setbacks or supply issues. It didn’t seem like it dragged on, and they got the job done,” Blake said. “They made it nice and neat, and structurally, it had do be done, because the old bridge was falling apart.”

Business development

Jackson Chamber of Commerce president Brian Gerau said the new center junction improved the accessibility of traffic between Cape and Jackson with the installation of the diverging diamond interchange.

“During the construction it was touch and go because some of the accessibility towards some of the hotels in that area was very limited, but the construction got done ahead of schedule,” he said. “I think they [the hotel owners] are very happy now. Visibility with the hotels is also high, so I think they are very happy.”

Gerau also said regarding the brand new intersection, the chamber has been working with retailers, developers and franchises in order to increase future business developments off exit 99.

“There’s always talks with developers and retailers on what we can do to best use the property kind of surrounding the junction or the diverging diamond, as they now call it,” he said. “We’re working hard to try and get businesses to look at that area, so I think it will grow most definitely.”

John Thompson, interim director for Cape Girardeau Area MAGNET, likes the intangibles that came out of the construction project, the use of local suppliers for materials, and the city’s attention to infrastructure.

“The local concrete came from McDonald’s Concrete and SEMO Ready Mix,” he said. “All of the employees of Penzel Construction and all the subcontractors involved with that are local.

“As they say, that dollar turns over multiple times within a community. Some suggest as many as seven times in your community. The guy that worked an hourly wage out on the job site spent his money at Harp’s or Schnucks for groceries.”

Center Junction is now fully-operational including traffic lights and there are fewer slow downs in traffic between Jackson and Cape Girardeau for commuters, along with no construction zones.