HIGHWAY ENGINEER URGES UNITY

JACKSON -- Local and state transportation officials should quit operating in isolation, the new district engineer for the Missouri Department of Highways and Transportation told the Cape Girardeau County Commission Monday.

The engineer, Scott Meyer, said he wants to work to "build partnerships" with local governments.

"We've got a whole list of county roads that you can have," joked Commissioner Larry Bock.

"And I've got a whole list of state roads that you can have," replied Meyer.

Because transportation is so crucial to economic development and quality of life, local and state officials should share their expertise and knowledge to solve transportation problems, he said.

"Whether it's a state road, county road or city road, we're all here to serve the people," Meyer said.

On Aug. 8, county and state officials will meet to discuss results of the first phase of a strategic plan to upgrade Highways 25, 34, 61 and 72 in Cape Girardeau County.

Last year, Environmental Science and Engineering Inc. of St. Louis began a corridor study and survey to determine traffic patterns and begin identifying needs along the routes. Meyer said the survey also identified needs on city and county roads.

The Aug. 8 meeting, which starts at 7 p.m. at the Holiday Inn in Cape Girardeau, will include information on future highway needs in the county, how to upgrade or relocate the highways studied and how to get local residents involved in identifying future needs.

Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones said employees at Procter & Gamble and residents of the Fruitland area long have urged that Highway 177 and Route J be upgraded to prevent flooding. Both roads were shut down because of high water during the 1993 and 1995 floods.

"Granted it doesn't flood very often, but we had a 500-year flood within two years," he said.

Development in the area is partly to blame, causing more water to run off, he said.

One study showed upgrading Highway 177 could cost $1.7 million, Jones said.

With talk of P&G possibly planning a major expansion, upgrading the roads in the area will be critical, he said.

The highways department has some economic development funding that could be used for the upgrades, Meyer said, but funding would depend on the expansion going through.

He said state highway officials recently met with P&G officials regarding their "wish list" for roads around the plant.

The expansion is "a new impetus, a new situation that we hadn't looked at before," he said.

State officials must learn to be more flexible while developing project plans, Meyer said.

"Yeah, we have a plan, but I think it's bad business to say, We have a plan and we're going to work with it no matter what," he said.