NEW ROAD: DEPARTMENT RECONSIDERS 34 BYPASS

The Missouri Department of Transportation plans to take a second look at a proposed Highway 34 bypass route favored by Cape Girardeau community leaders.

Highway officials and a consulting firm earlier had rejected the idea of building a section of highway that would extend northwesterly from the new Highway 74 west of Interstate 55 to Route K. That and other routes had been rejected because they would require extensive construction of highway through largely undeveloped areas.

But MoDOT has decided to include two alternatives that would include an extension of new Highway 74 to Route K. The new highway would intersect with existing Route K just east of Hillcrest Manor Subdivision between Cape Girardeau and Gordonville.

The two alternatives would both extend west along Route K and then north along Highway 25 before taking slightly different routes to bypass a heavily traveled area of Highway 34 in Jackson.

MoDOT project director DawnRae Clark said Monday that highway planners decided to add the segment to the various routes being studied at the urging of Cape Girardeau city and civic leaders.

Clark said both the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce Transportation Committee and the city's Planning and Zoning Commission had lobbied for the three-mile segment to be included in a four-lane bypass that would run from the highways 34-72 intersection in Jackson to the Interstate 55 and new Highway 74 area on Cape Girardeau's southwest side.

John Mehner, Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce president, welcomed MoDOT's decision. He said it shows the department's willingness to consider the wishes of area residents.

Mehner said that extending new Highway 74 to Route K west of Cape Girardeau would open up development in that area, provide a direct link to the new Mississippi River bridge and Illinois, and avoid dumping more traffic in the already heavily congested area of Route K and Interstate 55.

Mehner said community leaders still have some lobbying work ahead of them to convince highway planners of the merits of that route.

"We need to continue to look at it and push for it," Mehner said.

Clark said the two alternatives bring to seven the number of alternatives being studied.

She said the study by MoDOT and the St. Louis consulting firm, QST Infrastructure Inc. would take about six months to complete.

The study team plans to hold more meetings to solicit public input. "Community involvement in the location study process is essential," Clark said. "The department remains interested in additional input from those who live and work in the area," she said.

A final recommendation could be made by summer, Clark said.