County accepts road board proposal

Rural Cape Girardeau County residents will likely see the most aggressive road building effort in years following approval Thursday of a proposal from the Road and Bridge Advisory Board.

The Cape Girardeau County Commission accepted the proposal without change. The board leaders recommended the county put asphalt on about five miles of county roads this year and try a chip-and-seal paving method on another 10 miles.

Board members spent more than 600 hours over seven months studying every aspect of the county paving program, board president Larry Payne said. He and other leaders of the Road and Bridge Advisory Board spent nearly 90 minutes with commissioners, explaining their study and recommendations.

The 12-member advisory board was formed last year following the passage of a half-cent sales tax for roads and law enforcement. Beginning last October, the board met almost weekly and conducted four public meetings in April to explain their results.

The public meetings went remarkably well, Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones told the board members on hand for the meeting. "I've been to some public hearings, but I have never received an ovation," Jones said. "Instead, my posterior has been chewed on."

The road board divided county roads into four groups based on their compliance with county paving policies. One group was designated as priority roads because of previous commitments of money or manpower to prepare them for paving. Another group was lined up for paving based on the date when the request was filed, and another group was designated for an experiment in dust control using chip-and-seal paving. The final group includes other roads where at least one landowner has expressed interest in paving the road.

The ranking system, board vice chairman Ken Evans said, is a document that will be regularly updated as more residents sign easements required under the policy. The document sets a precedent, he said, adding "to me, that is almost as important as the final product we are delivering."

The chip-and-seal paving will be used to create corridors connecting state roads or previously paved county roads.

The roads designated for the chip-and-seal paving method, which involves spraying oil on a prepared gravel surface and adding small gravel to create a hard surface, include:

• County roads 440 and 439: Connect Route FF to Route D.
• County Road 422: Connect Route B to Route AA.
• County Road 316: Connect Highway 25 to Cape Special Road District.
• County Road 273: Connect Highway 25 to Stoddard County line.
• County roads 380-383-381: Bollinger County line to Route OO.
• County Road 522: Connect two sections of blacktop.

Chip and seal is a cheaper paving method, and the board wants to test it in several areas of the county for durability and long-term dust control. The tax is expected to bring in more than $6 million annually, but this year's take from the tax will be reduced because the first substantial payments to the county did not take place until March. So far, $1.1 million has been received, of which $187,000 is dedicated to paving.

rkeller@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 126