Improved Independence Street reopens Tuesday

Motorists on Independence Street will soon be able to drive between Pacific and Sprigg streets without having to make a detour around road construction.

At 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, a ribbon-cutting ceremony will open the newly widened section of Independence Street from Pacific Street to Sprigg Street. The ceremony will take place at the rear lot of the Cape Girardeau Fire Station No. 1, 1 S. Sprigg St.

The project was funded by the Transportation Trust Fund and is the last of 18 street projects funded with a half-cent sales tax voters approved in 1995 and extended five years later.

The Independence Street project was advertised for bids last Christmas Eve. Construction began on it May 5.

Lappe Cement Finishing Inc. of Perryville, Mo., is the general contractor for the $257,997 project. The construction crews added 2 to 4 feet to the width of the street and a center left-turn lane at intersections. It replaced the existing concrete pavement, curbs, sidewalks and storm sewers, and improved the drainage by flattening out a dip that once collected water during heavy rain.

Lawyer Dan Rau of the Patrick Davis firm at Independence and Pacific streets welcomed the possibility of flattening the dip in the road.

That area of the street is "like a bowl and it collects a lot of water," Rau said in March.

People who drive along Independence Street were not the only ones inconvenienced by the construction. Last month construction crews twice accidentally cut the cable that wiped out communications to the fire department, police department and city hall for a brief time.

"We appreciate the public's cooperation and patience in this project," said city engineer Mark Lester.

The Transportation Trust Fund I was developed in 1995 with the approval of the sales tax. Voters extended the sales tax trust fund to create Transportation Trust Fund II for another five years, allowing the city to complete 13 additional projects.

The second phase from Sprigg Street to Kingshighway will be scheduled in the 2004-2005 fiscal year, and the third phase from Sprigg to Water streets is expected to follow the next year.

lredeffer@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 160