I-55 Oak Ridge interchange opens to delight of drivers

OAK RIDGE, Mo. -- The opening of an Interstate 55 interchange two miles from this small Cape Girardeau County town thrilled residents and even a lost trucker.

Jim Pickle of Wichita, Kan., was driving one of four northbound vehicles that exited at the Oak Ridge interchange during a 10-minute span late Wednesday morning.

"I'm glad it's here," he said.

Pickle missed his exit at Fruitland, Mo., and was looking for a place to turn around. Twenty-four hours earlier, he would have had to travel 12 miles to the Old Appleton, Mo., exit before he could have done so -- formerly the longest stretch on I-55 without an exit. On Wednesday, he only had to travel six miles before exiting to turn around.

The Missouri Department of Transportation opened the Oak Ridge interchange on Route E about 5 p.m. Tuesday following an afternoon celebration with students at the Oak Ridge elementary school.

Bill Criddle, an Oak Ridge junk dealer, said it's about time the interchange opened. Criddle wanted to drive on the curved ramps even before the highway exit signs were up.

"It took them forever to put those stupid signs up," he said.

Criddle and his wife, Billie, tried out the interchange within hours after it opened Tuesday, using it during a trip to Jackson, Mo.

"I think it's a good idea," said Criddle, adding that he likes the street lights at the intersection because they make it easier to maneuver on and off the ramps at night.

The state-funded project cost more than $2.38 million. Construction work began last fall.

Oak Ridge school officials have long wanted an interchange, contending it would cut driving time for school buses and allow for quicker response from emergency vehicles. Prior to the opening of the interchange, motorists had to travel through Fruitland or Jackson to get to Oak Ridge.

"It's great," said Cheri Fuemmeler, Oak Ridge school superintendent. The interchange cuts seven miles off her commute to work from her home in Cape Girardeau.

School nearby

The Oak Ridge exit is two miles from the school.

Fuemmeler dismisses critics who argue the state could have better spent its money building a new interchange for Jackson.

"I think it's going to have a lot of traffic," she said of the new interchange, which makes use of the existing Route E bridge over I-55.

Construction worker Herb Blattel of Delta, Mo., welcomed the interchange. "I think it's a good deal," said Blattel, who is working on a construction project in Oak Ridge. "It cuts 10 minutes off."

Scott Meyer, MoDOT district engineer in Sikeston, Mo., said the new interchange could ease traffic congestion in the Fruitland area.

Promise kept

Meyer said it also fulfills a commitment made by the state years ago to build the Route E interchange. Oak Ridge Board of Trustees records show the interchange was in the original plan for I-55 in 1969 but wasn't built.

In 1995, the Cape Girardeau County Commission had to choose between the Oak Ridge interchange and a newly proposed interchange at East Main Street in Jackson. The commission supported the Oak Ridge project.

Joe Gambill, 2nd District commissioner, was on the commission at the time. Gambill said the commission felt the state should live up to its promise. The commission also concluded that the Oak Ridge exit was needed to improve access to the northern part of the county.

Gambill said Wednesday that the new interchange could boost development in that part of the county.

Jackson Mayor Paul Sander still believes the East Main Street project should have been given higher priority. He said the Jackson interchange, now slated for construction in 2005, will be more heavily used than the Oak Ridge interchange.

Still, he said, Jackson officials weren't unhappy about the Oak Ridge project, just the timing of it.

"We were never opposed to that interchange," he said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 123