MoDOT submits plan for pedestrian bridge at Highway 74

The plans for a pedestrian bridge that would cross over Highway 74 at Ellis Street in Cape Girardeau were submitted Tuesday to the Federal Highway Administration.

The Missouri Department of Transportation submitted the plans and project manager Steve Duke said it could be three to four weeks before the project is approved, depending on the administration's work load.

If the project is approved, MoDOT will notify the city so it can start advertising for bids.

The bridge will be totally funded by MoDOT and officials roughly estimate a cost of $200,000, but Duke said he wouldn't know the cost until bids were accepted. The bridge, which will be enclosed with a chain-link fence so items cannot be thrown from the structure, will be funded through the district's enhancement fund. All projects paid from that fund are at the discretion of the district.

MoDOT will also build sidewalks, but the city has agreed to maintain the sidewalks on both sides of the highway as its share of the costs, city engineer Mark Lester said.

Delayed process

In March last year, Duke said the project could have been completed by the end of 2002, if everything went well. However, engineers hit some snags in the designing process that delayed matters, he said.

Duke said the department had to make sure the clearance was adequate to satisfy federal guidelines since Highway 74 is part of the national highway system. He also said engineers had to make sure there were no sight problems with the traffic signals at Sprigg Street, where the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge will connect with the city upon its completion, scheduled for this fall.

Duke said the department did some double-checking to make sure the Ellis Street location was the most logical location. The department also considered a location to the north of Ellis, but Duke said he thought the bridge would benefit more people at Ellis.

If the project is approved by the administration and if the city council approves the project, work could begin. Once construction is started, the project should be completed in less than 120 days.

Busy highway

MoDOT and local safety officials consider the bridge a need based on the number of people who jump the fences and cross the busy Highway 74 on foot. Pedestrians, mostly young people, jump the fences because the only other ways across the highway are at Sprigg Street and West End Boulevard, five blocks apart. The fences are bent down in several locations along the highway.

Many in the area are in favor of the bridge. Some have complained that people cut through their yards to jump the fences and others simply want a more direct route to walk across the highway.

Others are not so thrilled. Opponents of the project believe the bridge will become a location for drug dealings.

John Goff, pastor of the Church of God at 624 Ellis, said when he moved to the area 7 1/2 years ago, before Highway 74 was built, a "gang of youth" roamed the area and caused trouble. He said the highway has been a barrier to keep large groups from gathering.

"It seems to me that if we open up the avenue again, we'll have the same problem," Goff said. "I"m strongly opposed to opening it up again and I think it will escalate the drug problem we have in the area. I see the viewpoint of those who are wanting it, but I see possible adverse costs."

bmiller@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127