CENTER JUNCTION WORK AIRED

JACKSON -- Next stop Jefferson City.

A public hearing at Jackson City Hall Thursday was the next step in a plan by local governments to accelerate construction of improvements at the Interstate 55 and U.S. 61 intersection known as Center Junction.

The public comments will be gathered and presented to the Missouri Transportation Commission in September or October.

At that time, the commission is expected to decide whether to certify the nonprofit transportation corporation that has been formed to finance the improvements and whether to commit to funding the project.

The corporation consists of the cities of Cape Girardeau and Jackson and Cape Girardeau County. If given the go-ahead by the state commission, they would sell bonds so that $5 million in improvements to the intersection can proceed at a faster pace than usual for such a project.

The state would buy back the improvements in 2004 but wouldn't pay interest costs, estimated at $1.2 million.

Key to the project is developer Jim Drury's agreement to develop commercial properties at the intersection. The cities and the county government expect to make back the money they invest through sales taxes.

One of the planned improvements in the intersection involves moving the lane of U.S. 61 that runs from Cape Girardeau to Jackson closer to the other lane.

Andrew Meyer, a transportation project designer for MoDOT in Sikeston, said one of the major problems with the current configuration is the no-man's land between the U.S. 61 lanes that must be traversed by cars getting off I-55. "The crossovers are terrible," he said.

Center Junction has a wide median because Wedekind Park once was located in the median. The picnic tables and eventually the trees were removed.

The ramps on and off I-55 also will be reconfigured to make the entrance and exit angles less severe.

Barry Horst, project development engineer for MoDOT in Sikeston, said both changes will make the intersection safer and move more traffic. Traffic counts show about 15,000 vehicles per day move through the intersection from U.S. 61.

Horst said the design at this point is "extremely preliminary." Another part of the plan is to reroute part of Wedekind Drive southwest of the intersection.

The changes will make the intersection more developable for Mid-America Hotels, one of only two landowners whose right of way is affected by the proposed project.

"The fact that moving the lanes means it will not be divided by a median makes the property more accessible. There will be less complex traffic movements," said Bob Hahn, vice president of development for Drury's Mid-America Hotels. He attended the public hearing.

Hahn said the transportation corporation is the first such agreement the company has become involved in. He said the idea "evolved in talks with the community about our mutual interests. Traffic and safety are important issues."

Hahn said the plan still is being sorted out.

"There are still a lot of hoops to jump through."

If this arrangement enables Center Junction to be expedited, Jackson City Administrator Steve Wilson said the same type of financing could be used for the interchange at East Main Street and I-55 the city has wanted MoDOT to fund.

"If this can happen we will be in a better position to take advantage of it again," Wilson said.

Before signal lights were installed in 1995, the intersection was the scene of frequent accidents, including fatalities. The signals have helped, said Meyer, but the proposed improvements are the next step.

"It's a safety issue. We've done everything we can to maximize the workings of the signals."

Horst said traffic inconveniences will occur during construction, primarily at the ramps. Most of the work on U.S. 61 will be done in the median.

He said no intersections will be closed, and lane closures will be only temporary.

If the project is approved, MoDOT will begin the design phase. Construction on the project then could begin in about 18 months.