NASH ROAD EXTENSION MOVES FORWARD

SCOTT CITY -- Few people attended Thursday's public hearing on the Nash Road extension, slated to be completed by the Missouri Highway and Transportation Department in late 1996 or early 1997. But it's construction will affect many.

Dan Overbey, executive director of the Southeast Missouri Regional Port Authority said the impact the projected $11 million project could have on Scott City and Cape Girardeau -- not to mention the port itself -- is boundless.

"This road will not only be vital to the future success of the port, but also for present tenants who utilize the existing port road or port facilities," said Overbey. "When the road is completed, we will be in excellent shape to attract new industries, which ultimately benefits everyone."

Thursday's public hearing at the Scott City High School cafeteria is a required step on the road to drafting a final plan approved by the state highway commission, Overbey said.

The Nash Road extension will widen the current road to two, 12-foot lanes with 8-foot shoulders and will run nearly a straight line from the Nash Road interchange at Interstate 55 to the port authority.

The projected speed limit will be about 50 miles per hour, and an expected 2,200 trucks per day are expected to travel the road by 2012.

Large maps were laid out over tables in the cafeteria and several representatives of the port and the state highway department were on hand to answer questions of area residents and businesses interested in the proposed extension.

If the preliminary plans presented at Thursday's meeting are approved within the next couple of months by the state highway commission, the highway department then will finalize the plans and re-submit them for final approval.

If all goes well, the first grading and leveling work could begin as soon as September, Overbey said.

"Late 1996 seems like so far away," he said. "But then again, the port has been in business for 20 years, and every year has gotten bigger and better with what it's had to work with.

"This is just an added plus for us," he said. "But it's still hard to wait."

The port has done much of the work to get the project rolling, including acquiring all the land needed from Ramsey Creek east to the port facility. It also is negotiating to buy a six and one-half mile stretch of railroad track that would be extended to the port.

Overbey said that arrangements are in the works with Burlington Northern, Union Pacific and Southern Pacific for shipping rights and railway usage.

The Nash Road extension includes a railroad bridge over Ramsey Creek.

Overbey said he hopes that when the time comes, the elements won't interfere with construction.

"The land involved in the first phase of grading and leveling is very low and prone to flood," he said. "If the weather is with us, we would like to see this get underway as soon as possible."

The road itself will be 20 to 24 feet above the current level of the land, and will be, in most places, above the 100-year flood stage.

"The Nash Road extension will also give the people of Scott City something they have wanted for a long time -- an alternate route out of the city," Overbey said. "It should also curb the heavy freight traffic through Scott City. That will make everyone happy, I'm sure."