MODOT TO HOLD MEETING HERE ON CAPE-SC ROAD

On an average day in 1995, 39,790 vehicles were counted along Interstate 55 between Scott City and Cape Girardeau.

The Missouri Department of Transportation estimates that about 15,000 of those vehicles were traveling solely the five-mile stretch between Cape Girardeau and Scott City.

Discussing an alternative route between the two cities will be the purpose of an information-gathering meeting to be held from 4-7 p.m. Wednesday at the Salvation Army Community and Worship Center in Cape Girardeau. MoDOT representatives will be on hand to gather suggestions from Cape Girardeau citizens.

"The biggest thing is the congestion relief, the second thing is strictly a convenience," John Mehner, Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce president, said. "It also could be a necessity if something would happen to the interstate. It would help if it's there when everything is going smoothly but if we've got some kind of a bad accident, overturned truck, if that happens you've got another backup route."

John Mehner said an alternate route would mean added convenience for the people who work in one city and reside in the other.

"There are people who live in Scott City who work up here," he said. "There are also quite a few people who live in Cape and work in the manufacturing facilities along Nash Road. Some of them work in the facilities in Scott City."

Many of the suggestions that came out of a MoDOT meeting last month in Scott City revolved around a direct connection to the nearly complete Nash Road. Also called Route AB, Nash Road connects Scott City's industrial area and the Southeast Missouri Regional Port Authority with I-55.

An area off Nash Road is also where Lady Luck Gaming Corp. is hoping to place a casino boat.

"I think right now we are so far ahead of saying there's even going to be a boat there that to me that's a long-term consideration," Mehner said. "Until the state gaming board decides they're going to issue any more licenses, that's not an issue.

"Before the road is put in you have to look at if a license is issued, if it's pursued and if Scott City gets it, then obviously you want that to fall into the plan."

The problem from the Cape Girardeau side is to find a route that will accomplish MoDOT's desire to alleviate congestion on I-55 without disturbing the residential areas south of the city.

"Depending upon what route is chosen it could free I-55 up a lot," Mehner said. "If they truly come out of Scott City and go with a route east of the interstate, something between the interstate and the river, I think that's going to have a tremendous effect on the congestion on the interstate.

MoDOT project manager DawnRae Clark Fuller said the highway department is making an effort to include all Cape Girardeau residents in the planning process.

"There's a little bit of concern in the south Cape community about a bi-section of their community," Fuller said. "We just want to make sure we give them every opportunity to be involved. We can take their input and put it with the rest and come up with the best solution for everybody."

Fuller said more than 100 attended the Scott City meeting last month on the same issue. The proposed route out of Scott City is expected to impact more people there because of the density of the neighborhoods north of the city.

She said she hasn't been looking into route possibilities yet because she wants to give every suggestion equal weight. Fuller said she hasn't even looked that closely at the information accumulated at the Scott City meeting yet.

"I was kind of waiting to do that after the Cape meeting," she said. "A prominent thought was to connect with Nash Road and go north on old Highway 61.

"After this we'll be looking at the engineering and environmental constraints and hopefully in the summer we'll have another meeting with corridors that we've developed from these meetings and also a focus group."

Fuller said MoDOT engineers have been working closely with community leader David Allen in getting concerns from south Cape Girardeau residents. Allen was not available for comment Sunday.