INTERSTATE MARKS 25 YEARS

The final pouring of concrete that linked Southeast Missouri with St. Louis was completed on Wednesday, July 12, 1972. This photo ran on the front page of the Southeast Missourian July 13, 1972. file photo

Construction of I-55 in 1972. Highway 61 used to be the most important north-south route in the area until I-55 opened up on Aug. 30. Here the final section is readied for concrete. file photo

I-55 connects Chicago to New Orleans. It is the most important road in the Cape-Jackson region. The final concrete pour near Fruitland in 1972 linked most of Southeast Missouri with St. Louis. A year later a 12-mile stretch of I-55 was completed south of Hayti to Cooter which cleared the way for travelers from Memphis to St. Louis. file photo

Editor's note: this story was compiled from 1972 Southeast Missourian news clippings and recent interviews with local people who remembered the opening of this region's most important road.

This weekend, without fanfare, 25 years ago the last drops of wet cement for I-55 were poured north of the FF overpass east of Fruitland. The road wouldn't open officially until Aug. 30, but the concrete was in place and travelers would soon not have to travel the dangerous two-lane Highway 61 between Jackson and St. Louis.

With the exception of a few extra people watching the work the pour was a routine operation.

The bystanders said that there should have been a golden spike or time capsule to bury in the cement, but nothing was done, according to the July 13, 1972 account in the Southeast Missourian.

One of the cement finishers said that there should have been a barrel of beer on hand for the event, but ice water was all the group had to sip.

The construction of I-55 between Scott City and St. Louis began when the contract for the first section of pavement was awarded April 21, 1961.

The first section was 15 miles of interstate between Fruitland and Scott City. It took two and a half years to complete. It cost $500,000 a mile to pave the road.

Other sections of the four-lane highway were completed between the years 1961 and 1972. The last section between Brewer and Fruitland, which opened Aug. 30, 1972, cleared the way for motorists from as far south as Hayti to travel to St. Louis.

The final section of I-55 between Memphis and St. Louis was completed south of Hayti in 1973.

Old trail becomes new highway

The general path of I-55 from St. Louis through Southeast Missouri was a trail first cut by buffalo hunting Indians. The trail ran parallel with the Mississippi River, according to the Nov. 18, 1972 Southeast Missourian account written by Bob Maher. The Missourian story was reprinted from a 1972 issue of "Missouri Highways."

Later, the Spaniards used the path and named it El Camino Real which meant "The King's Trace," "Royal Road" or "King's Highway."

The final translation has stuck for more than 200 years with St. Louis, Cape Girardeau, Sikeston and New Madrid all having a street named Kingshighway.

In 1808, the first law concerning this road in Missouri was enacted. A commission was appointed and the roadway was to be cleared of trees from St. Louis to New Madrid. The width was 25 feet.

It was designated a road, but it resembled a trail. The road ran along the ridges and would also follow the streams until there was a good place to cross.

The road was used by the early settlers in the region. Trappers used the road to move pelts to market. The road later became a postal route established by Congress.

During the Civil War skirmishes were fought on the road as the Union and Confederates fought to seize control of this border state.

At first crossing streams required the traveler to get wet. Later, ferries were used. Even later timber poles were used to pave the road, by stretching trees across the roadway. These pole roads helped with stream crossings, by keeping horses and oxen from getting stuck in the mud.

Wooden planks, rocks and later gravel was used to make passage along this north-south route more convenient.

In 1922, Highway 61 became Southeast Missouri's first paved road. The construction of Highway 61 was part of the early 1900s effort to get Missouri out of the mud.

In 1961, construction of I-55 began in Missouri and a culmination of more than 200 years of road work was on its way toward completion.

Interstate a boom and bust for businesses

According to a story written by John Ramey in the Southeast Missourian Sept. 7, 1972, the new interstate cut into the businesses located on Highway 61 between Fruitland and Brewer.

"The majority of people who operate the cafes, gas stations, garages and motels that dot the stretch say business has fallen off 50 to 80 percent since the superhighway opened a week and a day ago."

The story had many different business owners discussing the new highway and how it affected business. Floyd Lichtenegger and his son, James, operated Floyd's Shell at Fruitland. They were planning on opening a new business at the Jackson-Fruitland exchange.

Floyd, who still lives in Fruitland, said someone else opened a station at the Jackson-Fruitland exchange and he and his son decided to stay where they were.

Lichtenegger, who was the "unofficial" mayor of Fruitland at the time, stayed in business for another year after the interstate opened.

While many small towns and businesses along Highway 61 would dry up and close down with the opening of I-55, Lichtennegger's business closed for different reasons.

He said the owner of the building was living above his business and didn't like the noise that came with a service station and asked if the Lichteneggers would end their lease. They agreed and closed the business in 1973.

Lichtenegger said, "I think it's (I-55) a wonderful thing. If we would have had it years before then a lot of lives would have been saved. It ruined a lot of towns along the way, but that's progress. I don't think we would ever trade it back."

Lichtenegger's business had a wrecker service and he was called out to many of the wrecks that occurred on the dangerous Highway 61. The opening of the interstate was a great day, to Lichtenegger it meant there wouldn't be as many accidents and deaths in the area.

Lichtenegger was present for the highway's official opening in Perryville on Aug. 30. He remembered it was a hot day that started with a rain shower in the morning, but the sun came out for the opening, which was witnessed by a large crowd along with Gov. Warren E. Hearnes, Sen. Thomas F. Eagleton and Jack Stapleton, state Highway Commission chairman.

The ribbon was cut at 11:43 a.m. but traffic didn't start moving on the road until about 1 p.m. due to the heavy traffic that came out for the event.

Carlton "Cotton" Meyer doesn't remember the opening celebration, but he remembers what the interstate meant to Jackson.

"It opened up a lot more opportunities. It was a boom for Jackson," Meyer said.

Meyer, a former mayor of Jackson, was on the City Council at the time the superhighway opened.

But Meyer remembered that it wasn't as convenient for Jackson when it first opened. At that time, Jackson's city limits were miles from the interstate and there were only two-lane roads out to the interstate from Jackson.

Meyer said that a lot of people say that a town will dry up if the interstate bypasses it, but Jackson built out to the interstate.

"I can't imagine where we'd be if we were still driving on a two-lane road," Meyer said.

He added that if the interstate wasn't built, the growth of Jackson would be 10 years behind.

Meyer said he'd like to see the proposed I-66 come through the area. He said that the east-west route would do the same for the region's growth as the north-south I-55 has done the past 25 years.