Jackson officials study East Main extension options

The Jackson Board of Aldermen is considering whether to break down the last leg of the East Main Street extension project to Interstate 55 into phases and, if so, whether the road should be two lanes or three in the first phase.

Smith & Co. Inc. of Poplar Bluff was hired to do the engineering of the project. Representatives from that firm presented the aldermen with some options at Monday night's study session.

Eventually, city leaders see the future artery being 64 feet wide and five lanes across like East Jackson Boulevard, but the aldermen seemed generally in favor of a phased approach work where the road would start with either two or three lanes with the last two outside lanes coming at a later time.

Depending on how much work Jackson officials decided to do in the first phase, the phased approach would allow the city to postpone up to an estimated $288,000 in paving costs, which could be used on other important city road projects.

Financial consideration

A phased approach would also help the city take full advantage of a proposed Transportation Development District, which is a financing mechanism that would allow certain tax and fee revenue generated in that district to stay in the district to pay for the roads.

The TDD has not yet been formed, but city administrator Jim Roach said a meeting will likely be held in late spring or early summer with all of the major players in the TDD -- the cities of Jackson and Cape Girardeau, Cape Girardeau County and Southeast Missouri State University.

The phasing options of the first phase were to either build two lanes with a turn lane in the middle or two lanes with a median.

The 3-lane option would cost an estimated $288,000 to pave. The median option would cost $172,000 to pave.

Both options present pros and cons.

Paul Ridlen, an engineer with Smith & Co., said his firm recommended leaving a median, for now.

This would allow the city to have more access management, meaning the city would be able to control where business entrances and turn lanes would be located.

It would help avoid "suicide lane" situations where vehicles coming from both directions have entered the turn lane at the same location.

Crucial turn lanes

The turn lanes would be dictated by development. Business owners and developers would have to request the turn lanes.

Roach pointed out that the city would be forced to set a precedent under this option when it added a turn lane for the first business.

Alderman Phil Penzel, also the president of a construction company, said it would be more difficult to build the turn lane around traffic and said it would be more of an inconvenience to motorists to add a turn lane later. He said it would be better to build the turn lane up front and get it out of the way.

Building the additional lane or lanes later would also cost more because of inflation, but Ridlen said he assumed the money postponed in the short-term would be used toward other prioritized street projects so the city would not be wasting the money lost on inflation.

Mayor Paul Sander, who said he didn't feel strongly either way and could live with either option, asked the aldermen to think about it some more for further discussion at the May 12 study session.

He said the issue could appear on the May 19 agenda.

bmiller@semissourian.com

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