JACKSON SIGNALIZATION WORK NEARLY COMPLETE

JACKSON - The long-awaited traffic signals at the intersection of Donna Drive and East Jackson Boulevard should be up by the end of the week, a spokesman for the Missouri Highway and Transportation Department at Sikeston said Monday.

Bob Simpson, highway engineer, said: "I spoke with the man in charge of signal installations last week. He told me the work would start this week. He has allocated all week to get the work done. The only thing that would affect the schedule is the weather."

Utility poles for the signals were put in by the Jackson public works department in late November. The signal heads will be mounted on wires suspended over the intersection from the poles, Simpson explained.

State officials said the project was delayed while waiting for an easement from a property owner to mount the utility poles on private property near the intersection.

Efforts to get traffic signals at the busy intersection began last April when supporters gathered petitions bearing over 2,300 signatures ask~ing that traffic lights be installed there.

Police Chief Larry Koenig said the lights will enable traffic on Donna Drive, and cars on the Wal-Mart parking lot, to get to the highway during peak traffic periods.

Police records indicate about one-third of the 937 motor vehicle accidents that occurred in 1990 in Jackson occurred along the East Jackson corridor, which now handles more traffic than any other street.

This will be the third highway intersection in town to get traffic signals. Traffic lights are now in operation at the intersection of East Jackson and Highways 25-34-72, and at East Jackson and Shawnee Drive.