CITY MOVING FORWARD ON PLANNED STREET REPAIR

A combination of increasing asphalt and fuel prices could make the costs of completing street projects in Cape Girardeau higher than originally expected. But the city's engineering department is moving ahead with the slate of Transportation Trust Fund projects as planned.

"Right now it's anybody's ball game," said City Engineer Mark Lester.

He has been asking asphalt companies what their price increases will be because fuel prices are rising and asphalt is made from a petroleum derivative, but no one knows for certain, Lester said.

Most of the street projects being planned are for concrete streets, but several will have asphalt overlays.

Rising fuel prices "will be a factor even if we are just using concrete because of the energy costs of doing a project," Lester said.

The Cape Girardeau City Council will hold public hearings on street projects during Monday's meeting. The council meets at 7:30 p.m. at 401 Independence.

The projects are for construction of a new portion of Lorimier Street south of Morgan Oak to new Route 74, improvements to Independence Street from Pacific to Sprigg streets and improving Rodney Street near Arena Park.

The public hearings are step two in the process of assessing need for the work, reaffirming that need, getting land acquisition and right-of-way and then building the streets, said Lester.

City engineers continue to work on the projects that are in the earliest stages of design and right-of-way acquisition, he said.

With the exception of about three projects, the list of 20 Transportation Trust Fund projects should be completed. Kage Road improvements were tabled by the council; Perryville Road extension to the Jaycee Municipal Course will depend on annexation and an extension of Lorimier likely won't be completed this year.

However, the council will still hold a public hearing on extending Lorimier Street from Morgan Oak Street to Missouri Route 74.

Lester said the city won't begin work until plans for exits off the route are determined and plans for the Southeast Missouri State University River Campus are finalized. The university owns the property needed for right-of-way for an extension of Lorimier Street.

"It wouldn't be in our best interest to build a road until the state gets the highway built," he said. "And it wouldn't be in our best interest to build a road until we know what the campus plans are."

If the Missouri Department of Transportation does construct a highway exit at Lorimier Street, it would likely include a traffic light, Lester said.

But that decision would have to be made by MoDOT.

Scott Perry, transportation project designer with MoDOT, said an exit off Route 74 at Lorimier Street is planned just 500 feet west of the end of the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge. It will be the only exit off the bridge until the Sprigg Street intersection.

Perry said no traffic signal would be installed when the exit is constructed, but that doesn't mean one wouldn't be added if necessary later.

Cost for the project wouldn't increase if traffic signals were added; the prices per foot front are set by an ordinance of the council.

Each project has a different price because the street classifications are different. Residential street costs are $35; combination residential and commercial streets are $46; and commercial streets are $67 per front foot.

The price for Lorimier Street is $56 per front foot; Independence Street is 467 and Rodney Street is $46 per front foot.

The costs will be billed by the city to all property owners, unless the owners donate right-of-way for the projects. It takes every property owner along a section of the road where improvements are proposed to donate right-of-way. If not all property owners donate the land, then tax bills are assessed.

The projects have been funded by a half-cent sales tax that was first approved in 1995. The existing tax will expire later this year.