MEETINGS SET ON CITY, STATE ROAD PROJECTS; HOPPER ROAD WORK WILL BE DISCUSSED

Planned improvements to Hopper Road will start with a public hearing Monday night when the Cape Girardeau City Council will hear plans to improve Hopper from Kage Road to Oak Ridge Road, a distance of more than 330 feet.

"Basically what this is is just intersection work," said city engineer Mark Lester. "It's part of the Phase 1 of the Hopper Road extension."

Work would include widening and repairing the intersection.

One property owner will be assessed for the improvement, Lester said, and the hearing is required for tax-assessed projects.

The Hopper Road project is among those funded through the Transportation Trust Fund.

Phase 1, which would cost $686,500, includes road construction from Kage Road to Mount Auburn Road, with about 3,500 feet of pavement to be laid.

The necessities are there to replace the intersection, Lester said, adding: "We can go ahead and break this out. We've got the land and we've got the funds."

Phase 2 of the Hopper Road project calls for upgrading Hopper Road from Kage Road to Interstate 55, including widening about 2,000 feet of roadway to 36 feet and adding curbs and gutters. The existing roadway is inadequate, say city officials.

Cost for Phase 2 is budgeted at $348,900 in the city's Capital Improvements Program.

The city is still working on land acquisition for the remainder of the project.

Also, the council will consider buying two tracts of property for Phase 2 of the Hopper Road project, one tract of 1.25 acres and a second tract of 2.8 acres, both along Hopper Road adjacent to I-55.

In 1995, voters approved a half-cent transportation sales tax to pay for routine improvements and maintenance and replacement of existing roads and new construction.