CAPE-TO-SCOTT CITY ROAD MEETINGS SET

Cape Girardeau and Scott City residents will get a chance next week to review plans for a new roadway between the two cities.

The Missouri Department of Transportation will hold two open-house sessions to gather input on four possible corridors for the highway.

DawnRae Clark, project manager for the department, said the four main corridors will link the two communities from I-55 or Route N in Scott County to Kingshighway or Southern Expressway (Highway 74) in Cape Girardeau.

The department has laid out 15 alternates with various combinations and connections between the cities, Clark said. People will be able to review and comment on the alternates.

Maps of each of the alternates and information on the pros and cons of each route will be displayed, she said.

The first meeting will be from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday at the Salvation Army Community Center, 701 Good Hope in Cape Girardeau. The second will be from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday at Scott City's City Hall, 618 Main St.

The state held community meetings in Scott City and Cape Girardeau last year to get input on designing the roadway.

"We took into account their thoughts and ideas and tried to develop alternates that were similar or alternates that contained major portions of those ideas," Clark said.

Department officials hope to reduce the amount of traffic on I-55 between Scott City and Cape Girardeau, which will reduce the number of accidents along that stretch, Clark said.

"Some alternate benefits that we could see, depending on which alternate is chosen, is some lessened congestion at the interchange at Scott City or some lessened congestion on Route K at Scott City," she said. "But that will depend on which alternate is chosen."

Traffic counts from 1995 show an average of 39,970 vehicles traveled I-55 from Scott City to Cape Girardeau every day. The department estimated that about 15,000 of those vehicles were traveling solely the five-mile stretch between the two cities.

Residents of both cities want another connecting roadway to cut down on congestion and travel time, showed public input from last year's meetings.

Scott City officials began petitioning the state in the 1980s for a new roadway between the two cities.

The corridor location study will determine whether an east outer road would be the best choice or whether another alternative would work better.

ROAD MEETINGS

-- Cape Girardeau: Salvation Army Community Center, 701 Good Hope, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday.

-- Scott City: City Hall, 618 Main St., 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday.