Cape council to make final decision on parks, storm-water tax

Funding for the Lewis and Clark Parkway will get a boost Monday.

That's when the Cape Girardeau City Council will vote to accept partial funding for the first 6,750 feet from the state, according to city manager Doug Leslie.

The Lewis and Clark Parkway will be a secondary road parallel to Interstate 55. The first phase will start at the future LaSalle Avenue and head south.

Eighty percent of the cost, $1.1 million, will be paid for by the Surface Transportation Program (STP) -- Urban Projects of the Federal Highway Administration. The remaining 20 percent is a required as match money. MoDOT administers the state's STP-Urban Projects. State money left over from construction of East Main Street/LaSalle Avenue interchange to I-55, $1.2 million, has already been set aside for the Lewis and Clark Parkway.

"The money is actually allocated to cities though a formula of lane miles of roadway and population," Leslie said.

He said no date is set for LaSalle Avenue construction, which will link to I-55 at what will be exit 102.

"We're working on trying to finalize easements," he said. Leslie anticipates getting right-of-way agreements in place "over the next month or so."

City officials plan to be at two dedication ceremonies this week. The first is a 2 p.m. event today at the River Campus for the John L. Oliver Jr. Parkway, which extends from the Emerson Memorial Bridge to I-55. Oliver, a prominent Cape Girardeau lawyer and active member of the community, died in May 2005. He served on the Missouri Highway and Transportation Commission for six years; Leslie said "he was instrumental in road projects in this area."

The second is an 11 a.m. ceremony Monday hosted by MoDOT to dedicate the new I-55 East Main Street/LaSalle Avenue interchange. Work to complete the interchange remains delayed by bad weather.

pmcnichol@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127