MoDOT, city studying I-55 Dutchtown interchange upgrades

The Missouri Department of Transportation is looking at improving an Interstate 55 interchange at the south end of Cape Girardeau.

MoDOT had proposed replacing an aging ramp bridge at exit 93, the Dutchtown exit. But Cape Girardeau city officials, business leaders and economic development officials have suggested the agency look at reconfiguring the entire intersection.

MoDOT area engineer Brian Okenfuss said Friday that MoDOT plans to seek input from local stakeholders over the coming months regarding the possibility of more expansive improvements.

The agency expects to hire an outside consulting firm to get “a second opinion” regarding possible interchange designs, Okenfuss said.

“We feel it is best to have a third party look at it,” he said.

The ramp, or “flyover” bridge, carries traffic on the southbound ramp to I-55 and was built in 1961. It is in “poor condition.”

Cape Girardeau city manager Scott Meyer said replacing the bridge could cost the state “several million dollars.”

Development of a more traditional, diamond-shaped interchange might allow for a smaller span and aid in economic development at that location.

Meyer said local officials welcome MoDOT’s decision to look at various design options.

“We’re glad they are doing that,” he said.

Meyer and Okenfuss said the improvements could require some local cost sharing.

MoDOT has limited funds, highway officials said. Okenfuss said, “We are really focused on just maintaining what we’ve got.”

Okenfuss said the project is only in the planning stages and has not been scheduled for construction.

It is not one of the bridge projects Gov. Mike Parson proposes to fund through the issuance of bonds, the MoDOT engineer said.

Meyer said city and civic leaders have advocated an improved interchange for years.

Local leaders including businessman Earl Norman funded a study a decade ago that looked at possible improvements at that exit, Meyer said.

A federal earmark for redesigning the interchange was authorized in 2005, but was recently “repurposed,” according to minutes of a January meeting of the Southeast Metropolitan Planning Organization’s technical planning committee.

According to the minutes, Norman offered to work with MoDOT on a “land swap” if necessary to secure right of way for the project.

The metropolitan planning group is a federally mandated and funded policy-making organization that oversees transportation planning for an urbanized area.

The region includes the cities of Cape Girardeau and Jackson, and portions of Cape Girardeau and Scott counties, as well some areas in Alexander County, Illinois.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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