Cape looks to smooth kink out of jagged Main Street

A huge building changed the face of Cape Girardeau in September of 1907.

Known as the "old shoe factory," the five-story brick structure near the Mississippi River housed more than 1,200 employees. The building, first run by Robert, Johnson and Rand, and later owned by Florsheim, was a cornerstone to downtown -- so much so that the city built its Main Street around it. At the point where the shoe factory used to be, northbound Main Street took a hard left and then a hard right.

The shoe business eventually fell through in Cape Girardeau, and the building was abandoned in 1984 and demolished in 1990. Nothing but an empty, grassy lot remains.

But Main Street still zigzags, a bizarre sight to those unfamiliar with the history of the town. Beyond its aesthetic abnormality, the street's kink is unsafe, say many who travel it every day.

The city of Cape Girardeau is in the process of straightening things out. By March, the section of Main Street near the intersection of Mill Street should be realigned to improve traffic flow.

That's good news to Main Street's everyday travelers.

"I saw a wreck there where somebody missed the curve and went straight into the people's yard," said Lori Koeppel, who works at Integrated Supply Co., a business near the intersection. "It's bumpy and awkward. I guess straight would be better."

Koeppel's co-worker, Chris Heath, said her tires hit an oily patch one day and her car spun completely around.

"It's dangerous," she said.

Less than a half mile northward, John Lashley, an employee for CRS Gas Station, said he has nearly been hit by motorists who cross into his lane when he's driving.

"They fly around there," he said. "I slow down just in case somebody comes over in my lane."

The project is part of the city's capital improvement program. It will be paid for with motor fuel tax funds.

City planner Kent Bratton said the project has been part of the city's capital improvement project plans for several years, but the city hasn't completed it due to budget constraints.

According to the capital improvement program that was proposed for fiscal years 2002 through 2007, the project was to include the widening of the street. The project, with the widening, was estimated at $204,000, but the project has been scaled back to $62,623.

"It's one of those things if we find some money later, we'll go ahead and widen it," said city engineer Mark Lester.

While work is being done, traffic from Park to Pearl streets will be limited to local residents.

Fronabarger Concreters Inc. is the contractor.

bmiller@semissourian.com

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