Last of 18 street projects begins on Independence

Cape Girardeau city officials officially broke ground on the Independence Street widening project Tuesday afternoon on the lawn of the city's main fire station even as the real construction work was beginning a block away.

The ceremony marked the start of work on the last of 18 street projects funded with a half-cent transportation sales tax approved by voters in August 1995. Voters five years later extended the tax to Dec. 31, 2005, to fund additional road projects.

Mayor Jay Knudtson said the transportation sales tax trust fund has proven a good way to finance road improvements.

He said it has served as "a benchmark" for the quarter-cent fire sales tax that is on the June 8 ballot. If voters approve the fire tax, the money will be placed in its own trust fund and spent on specified improvements for the fire and police departments, Knudtson said.

The $257,997 Independence Street project is scheduled to be completed by mid-August, city officials said.

The project involves widening Independence Street by 2 to 4 feet from Pacific Street to Sprigg Street. The result will be a 44-foot-wide street with a center left-turn lane at intersections, said Melanie Gertis, assistant city engineer.

The project includes replacement of existing concrete pavement, curbs and sidewalks, milling and asphalt overlay, storm sewers, traffic signal modifications and replacement of a water main, city officials said.

Gertis said a key part of the project is improving storm drainage "to alleviate some of the flooding issues we have."

A dip in the pavement near Pacific Street collects water in heavy rains, creating flash flooding problems.

Lappe Cement Finishing Inc. is the general contractor on the project. Contractor Rusty Lappe said a construction crew began work Tuesday on the section of Independence from Pacific Street to Ellis Street. That section of Independence has been closed to traffic to allow the construction work to proceed.

The first section of the project could be completed by the end of June, Lappe said. That section of Independence then will be reopened to traffic and the block from Sprigg to Ellis will be closed while road work is done there.

Lappe said the work shouldn't cause problems for motorists or for the city's main fire station.

The fire station sits at the corner of Sprigg and Independence and can be reached from driveways on Sprigg Street and Independence Street. As a result, Lappe said the construction project shouldn't prove a roadblock for fire trucks.

mbliss@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 123