DIVERSION CHANNEL BRIDGE IMPROVEMENTS PLANNED

Each week, somewhere between 900 and 1,000 trucks travel Nash Road (Route AB) where it meets Interstate 55 en route to the SEMO Port Authority. The trucks have to maneuver short acceleration lanes, a narrow bridge and harsh turns, which isn't easy on 18 wheels.

Route AB is not an easy road to travel, but the Missouri Department of Transportation hopes to make it better -- and soon. MoDOT has announced $16 million worth of improvements planned for the intersection.

The road improvement project, which is slated to begin next summer, includes:

* Replacing the northbound bridge over the Diversion Channel with a three-lane structure. The third lane will be an acceleration ramp for northbound traffic coming from Nash Road.

* Improving the interchange to better accommodate the turning movements of large trucks.

* Adding turn lanes on Route AB at the I-55 interchange.

* Placing conduit in the area so that traffic signals could be added when necessary.

Dan Overbey, port authority director, hopes the improvements will make travel through the area more efficient. "If you are driving it every day you are well aware that it's very dangerous," he said.

Accidents are frequent -- one Tuesday afternoon slowed traffic considerably. Cape Girardeau Police have responded to 17 accidents in the area since January. Those accidents amount to about 2 percent of the total accidents to which local police respond.

While motorists who travel the road daily know what to watch out for, many tractor trailers that come through the area aren't there every day. The acceleration ramp from Nash Road onto the interstate is very short and stops abruptly at the Diversion Channel bridge, Overbey said.

"Once the trucks clear the guard rail they have to look back under the overpass," he said. That can create traffic hazards if passing motorists don't shift lanes since the trucks can't stop quickly.

But traffic bottlenecks at the Diversion Channel Bridge should be alleviated once the state transportation department completes the improvements. Right-of-way purchases should begin soon and be complete by the spring.

A public meeting on the project is slated for October.

While there are problems at the interchange, the area doesn't really receive any more complaints than usual, said Angie Wilson, public affairs manager for MoDOT's Southeast district office.

Other suggestions have been offered as means of alleviating some traffic problems in the area and in neighboring Scott City.

MoDOT rejected the idea of building another bridge over the Diversion Channel last year. A two-year study determined that another road between Cape Girardeau and Scott City would be too expensive to build, at nearly $8 million.

If a two-lane road could have been built, it wouldn't have alleviated the traffic problems before more congestion would have occurred, MoDOT officials said.

But improvements to Nash Road and Route AB into the port authority could be a boom for the Scott City Industrial Park, Overbey said.

Much of the traffic volume is tractor trailers headed to the port, but other businesses will be affected, he said. "Anytime you get rid of a negative that's a plus and having that interchange and Nash Road straight to the port is a plus. It will be better for us and for Nash Road and the Scott City Industrial Park."

But business and industry aren't the only ones that will benefit. Now that Route AB connects with Nellie Street in Scott City, many residents use that route to reach Cape Girardeau instead of maneuvering through traffic signals at Highway 61 and I-55.

The construction project is slated for two construction seasons, so it will be an inconvenience for motorists, Wilson said. But the end result should mean better traveling, she added.

The addition of a lane near the bridge should make travel better. Any future improvements, which could include a three-lane interstate between Scott City and Fruitland, will match work already slated for the bridge.

"We'll build to that standard and then expand" the remainder of the interstate, if such improvements are proposed, Wilson said.

Work in the Fruitland area should be complete by winter so that project won't interfere with the Diversion Channel construction.

Penzel Construction Co. has been working to replace the I-55 overpass above Highway 61 at Fruitland. The second phase of that project is additional lanes on Highway 61 to create five lanes for travel between the I-55 interchange and Route 177. New traffic signals also will be added.

The third phase of the project includes improvements to Route 177 at Fruitland along County Roads 543, 603, 549 and 605 and the Hickory Hill subdivision. Other improvements will be made at the Bella Vista subdivision, Route V and the entrances to M &W Packaging and Proctor & Gamble.