MoDOT to address 'poor' condition of I-55 Exit 93 interchange at public meeting

Saying it “needs to be replaced soon,” the Missouri Department of Transportation has scheduled a community briefing later this month to discuss the replacement and redesign of Cape Girardeau’s southernmost interchange along Interstate 55.

The meeting, scheduled from 4 to 6 p.m. Jan. 21 at the Cape Girardeau Career & Technology Center, 1080 S. Silver Springs Road, will focus on the Exit 93 interchange connecting southbound Kingshighway traffic to I-55 and Highway 74. MoDOT refers to the interchange as a “flyover” and says it is in “poor” condition.

“The flyover was constructed in 1961 and currently carries more than 6,000 vehicles a day,” according to MoDOT project manager Benji Philpot. “The flyover needs to be replaced soon.”

Philpot said there is no funding for the interchange replacement and redesign project, “but through MoDOT’s discussions with the City of Cape Girardeau and the Southeast Metropolitan Planning Organization, we have started to explore the long-term future of this interchange.”

Philpot said MoDOT will share information at the community briefing about its preliminary plans to replace the flyover and will also gather public opinion about the project.

“We hope to receive public input about any concerns or potential areas of improvement that might be addressed through reconfiguring the interchange,” he said.

More information about the meeting or the interchange project in general is available by contacting Philpot at (573) 472-5371 or MoDOT area engineer Brian Okenfuss at (573) 472-9046. Information is also available by calling (888)-ASK-MODOT (275-6636) or through MoDOT’s website, www.modot.org/exit-93-interchange-cape-girardeau-county.

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