Cape Girardeau to advertise soon for contractors on Fountain Street extension project

A lengthy approval process is finally over for the Fountain Street extension project.

Within two weeks, Cape Girardeau will advertise for contractors to construct the brick-paved, divided boulevard from William Street to Morgan Oak Street, city engineer Kelly Green said. The contract will allow for 180 work days, which will mean a summer ribbon-cutting if weather doesn't intervene, she said.

That schedule is dependent on affordable bids. A 28-day rule for advertising the project means the Cape Girardeau City Council probably won't be able to act until October, Green said.

Building a showcase boulevard from Morgan Oak Street, with access to the Southeast Missouri State University River Campus, was one of the earliest projects funded after Cape Girardeau was chosen as a DREAM Initiative city.

Federal funding through the Missouri Department of Transportation -- $491,964 from one pot, $104,068 from another for paving bricks -- meant a protracted design review and approval process, Green said.

"The design and right-of-way acquisition have been completed for some time," Green said Friday.

The federal funds were allocated in 2007. So was a Community Development Block Grant of $400,000. The city set aside $300,000 in transportation sales tax funds as well.

The new road, 1,300 feet long, will be built on an abandoned railroad bed that runs through a ravine. The ravine will be filled, and a roundabout will be included at Morgan Oak Street.

Under the DREAM Initiative master plan, the property adjoining the new street would be built up with residences. The boulevard is also intended to be a gateway from Highway 74 into downtown.

Design costs and right-of-way acquisition have cost the city $77,000 and $300,000, respectively. That leaves about $919,000 of the original $1.3 million budget to complete the job.

"The plan is to have it all within this amount," Green said.

The time spent on the project -- Green estimated in July 2007 that the project would be done in six to nine months -- has been frustrating at times but the road will be worth the wait, Green said.

"We are fortunate to have all the grant opportunities available," she said. "We can see that sometimes that can cause some delays in the actual construction. But that's not negative."

rkeller@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent address:

401 Independence, Cape Girardeau, MO