CEREMONY ON TAP FOR ROUTE K WORK

GORDONVILLE -- A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held Wednesday at 11 a.m. to mark the completion of improvements to a 4.9-mile stretch of Route K.

The ceremony will be held at the intersection of Highway 25 and Route K.

Jerry Masterson, district design engineer with the Missouri Highway and Transportation Department's regional office in Sikeston, said the road project this summer involved resurfacing and shoulder work, and improvements at the intersection of Route K and Highway 25.

The gravel shoulders on Route K were reconstructed and paved with asphalt, he said.

The $777,472 project involved improvements to Route K, from the Interstate 55 junction to Highway 25.

"We redid the intersection out at Highway 25 and Route K, and added a left turn lane (on Highway 25)," said Masterson.

In addition, the T-intersection was realigned. "That intersection was kind of at an angle and we squared it up for safety purposes," he said.

The project also involved repairs to a bridge on Route K.

Masterson said there was a sufficient volume of traffic on Highway 25 to warrant a left turn lane.

In addition, he pointed out, the intersection improvements were designed to make for a safer intersection. The intersection has been the scene of a number of accidents in recent years, he said.

Masterson said there is a considerable amount of traffic on Route K between Cape Girardeau and Gordonville. "Traffic has really built up out that way. It increases every year."

Except for the new left turn lane, Masterson said, the improvements may not be readily noticeable to motorists. "They'll just know there is a good smooth road there," he said.

Masterson said officials from the city of Gordonville, Cape Girardeau County Commission and the state highway department are expected to be on hand for Wednesday's ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Also, representatives of Girardeau Contractors Inc. of Cape Girardeau, the prime contractor on the project, are scheduled to attend.

Masterson said the project was funded with money from the road and bridge improvement program previously approved by Missouri voters.