EAST RODNEY WORK COULD INCONVENIENCE FAIR-GOERS; BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION LIKELY TO BE UNWANTED SEMO FAIR EXHIBIT

The SEMO District Fair may have an unwanted exhibit this year: road construction.

Getting to the fair could be harder because construction work on a Cape Girardeau road that leads to the Arena Park fairgrounds may not be finished by the time the annual event rolls around in 65 days. The project includes replacement of the East Rodney Drive bridge over Cape LaCroix Creek.

The 146th annual fair is scheduled for Sept. 8 through15.

"It might be done; it might not be," said Abdul Alkadry, an engineer for the city.

Fair officials say they'll work around it. "We jokingly say we had fairs before we had bridges," said the fair board's Pete Poe.

But longtime fairgoer Jean Adams of Cape Girardeau said it could seriously inconvenience the public, particularly elderly people who use East Rodney Drive to reach the fairgrounds because the parking there is closer to one of the main entrances to the fair. Motorists, she said, also travel East Rodney to drop people off at the fair entrance.

"It is going to be a big handicap," she said.

Adams and her husband, Donald, have been going to the fair for 52 years. But bad knees and a hip replacement make walking more difficult for him these days. For that reason, Jean Adams hopes East Rodney is open so she can park closer to the fair entrance.

Alternative routes

Poe said fair officials have discussed alternative routes to the fairgrounds. Poe said some of the traffic that normally enters the fairgrounds from Independence and East Rodney likely would be diverted over Broadview.

Signs would be erected to alert fairgoers of the alternate route or routes should East Rodney still be closed by fair week, he said.

"With what we've got to offer the fair-going public, we feel sure they will find a way to get there," Poe said.

The city is reconstructing a 2,700-foot-long stretch of East Rodney from near the Missouri Conservation Department shelter at Arena Park south to about 300 feet north of the Independence intersection. The asphalt pavement is being replaced with a wider concrete road and sidewalks.

The work includes the new bridge and an underpass for the city's hiking and biking trail so trail users can cross under the road, as well as drainage improvements near Arena Park.

January deadline

Nip Kelley Construction Co. began work on the $673,569 project on May 7 and has until January to complete it, Alkadry said.

"We are hoping it will be done sooner than that," he said.

Much of the paving work has been done, but work on the new bridge has yet to start. The contractor is waiting on a shipment of deck beams, he said.

Alkadry said the fair unfortunately occurs during the construction season, making it hard to work around.

"It is going to be inconvenient at some point to some people," he said.

But Alkadry said the improvements are worth it. The asphalt street was too narrow, had drainage problems and didn't have sidewalks.

"It will be a very pedestrian friendly area after the project is done," he said.