Highway 34/72 widening project on the move

The process of clearing out a path for a wider western highway entrance into Jackson has begun.

The Missouri Department of Transportation has successfully negotiated with several property owners along the first phase of the Highway 34/72 widening, which runs from Hope Street to Main Street. The overall project will be done in three stages and will be completed some time after 2005. It will add two more lanes from Hope Street to the point where 34 and 72 split.

Several houses have been abandoned already. Two houses have signs in the windows, declaring the homes property of the state.

Eric Krapf, project manager for MoDOT, said a demolition contract will be awarded next month to tear down the buildings. That work should begin this summer, he said.

Some negotiations have gone smoothly, as MoDOT reported in a flyer distributed in January to affected residents. Others have not gone well and some have not been initiated yet.

Right-of-way discussion

"I haven't talked with anybody yet," said Fred Scheper, owner of S&S Florist. "There was a guy surveying here a while back and he said somebody would come by in a couple of weeks. That was a couple months ago."

One homeowner, speaking on the condition of anonymity for fear of hindering future negotiations, said she didn't feel MoDOT's offer was fair. She said she was optimistic she could get a better deal by taking the next legal step, mediation.

Joe Bob Baker, who owns an auto salvage business and property across the street where a marine shop is located, said MoDOT has not made him an offer, but the negotiating is sure to be a mess, he said.

There are several unanswered questions to be resolved, including how to remove some 500 junked cars from his lot. Currently, he has reached near capacity, at 1,000 cars, but the state plans to take enough space where he'll have to find another place to put 200 of his cars. Another 300 cars will have to be moved while construction is being done.

Baker, perhaps the most vocal opponent of MoDOT's plan to widen the highway without including turn lanes, learned Wednesday that the state House of Representatives passed a bill that would protect him from losing value due to lack of access.

MoDOT's controversial "limited access" grass-median approach will require motorists to drive as much as a quarter-mile out of the way, make a U-turn and drive the opposite direction to reach some destinations. MoDOT's stance is that limited access will make travel safer. Baker says it will hurt his business and make his property less valuable.

State Rep. Scott Lipke, R-Jackson, introduced the bill to the House and it easily passed Tuesday with a vote of 157-1.

Lipke said even before the bill was introduced, damages could be awarded by the state when purchasing right of way and that limited access is one area that could be considered when figuring damages.

"I had been told that limited access would not be taken into account, and this just gives a good safety measure in black-and-white to give people some assurance that without a doubt, one of the issues they can raise would be the loss of access to property," Lipke said. "It just provides protection for property owners."

Lipke said an emergency clause was also added to expedite the process of turning the bill into law.

In a recent letter to the editor, MoDOT area engineer Scott Meyer addressed the issue of access. He said access is not something that can be valued alone but is part of the total package. He said the property is appraised in its present state and also appraised based on the site after the project is completed. The difference is the compensation offered.

Any loss to a business is compensated by relocation benefits, which is a separate issue from real estate values.

bmiller@semissourian.com

243-6635