Intersection studies approved for Cape Girardeau and Jackson

Prompted by safety concerns, federal funds will be tapped for a traffic pattern analysis on two Cape Girardeau County locations with an eye toward solutions.

Southeast Metropolitan Planning Organization (SEMPO) gave the green light in mid-August to use $26,000 in Federal Highway Administration and Federal Transit Administration monies to study County Road 621 at Perryville Road near Pilot House Restaurant and Cape Jaycee Municipal Golf Course, as well as West Independence Street in front of Jackson Middle School.

SEMPO executive director Alex McElroy offered a straightforward opinion about the County Road 621 and Perryville Road crossing.

"It's poorly aligned. I don't think if it was designed today, it would have the design it currently has," said McElroy, who has led SEMPO since January 2020.

Cape Girardeau County District 2 Associate Commissioner Charlie Herbst said he has long had a concern about safety at the confluence of the two roads.

Alex McElroy

Alex McElroy

"It's a confusing intersection with line-of-sight issues," he said.

According to statistics provided by Herbst via the state Highway Patrol, more than 80 accidents have occurred at the location in the past two decades, injuring 40 people over that period.

Cape Girardeau Special Road District officials had asked for the intersection study.

In Jackson, the safety of children crossing West Independence Street to Jackson Middle School was brought to SEMPO's attention by members of the public and Jackson school administrators, McElroy said.

"There's a speeding concern there, and it's a pretty dangerous crossing," Jackson Mayor Dwain Hahs said in remarks to SEMPO's board. "It's a challenge in terms of safety."

Scope

McElroy said as a transportation agency, SEMPO receives planning funds only.

"We're not allowed to use any of the money for any type of construction. The work products we deliver are plans that can be taken up and used to apply for grants or used by city or county officials who can then commission construction work to be done. (SEMPO)'s involvement is the first step in developing transportation projects, which is getting plans in place," he said.

About SEMPO

SEMPO is a federally mandated policymaking body consisting of representatives of municipal governments and transportation agencies and other transit stakeholders. They are tasked with planning and prioritizing transportation systems that will meet the region's needs into the future.

SEMPO's organizational boundaries include Jackson, Cape Girardeau, part of Scott County around Cape Girardeau Regional Airport and across the Mississippi River into East Cape Girardeau along Illinois Route 146.

SEMPO's board of directors include voting and non-voting members drawn from county and municipal governments, Missouri and Illinois departments of transportation, planning and economic development commissions, transit agencies, Southeast Missouri Regional Port Authority, Southeast Missouri State University and Federal Highway Administration.

Under federal requirements, metropolitan planning organizations such as SEMPO are required to establish long-range metropolitan transportation plans with a 20- to 25-year horizon and update those plans every five years.

Among the work projects created recently by SEMPO was an $80,000, 193-page electric vehicle readiness plan, which was approved by SEMPO's board last November.