NEW SECTION OF ILLINOIS ROUTE 3 OPEN

THEBES, Ill The Illinois Department of Transportation said 2.8 miles of realigned Route 3 between Gale and Thebes will be opened to traffic today.

In addition to a new highway, motorists also will have a scenic view of the Mississippi River as they travel between Gale and Thebes, said District Engineer Bob Zieba.

He said the opening of the highway coincides with the start of construction of the link-up of the new highway with the existing highway north of Gale.

"To complete the tie-in with the new highway, we have built a temporary gravel surface road between the existing highway and the new route," Zieba said. "On Monday, we plan to open the new route and begin rerouting traffic over the detour onto the new highway so work can begin on the linkup of the new and existing highways."

Zieba said a new "T" intersection on the new route, near the Sexton Creek bridge, also will be open today for residents who live along old Route 3 between Gale and Thebes.

Zieba said the grade of the existing highway north of the Clear Creek-East Cape Girardeau agricultural levee will be raised several feet to match that of the new route.

Because of the detour and presence of workers and road equipment, Zieba said motorists approaching the Gale area should be watching for flaggers, barricades, lane restrictions and stopped vehicles.

Zieba said it will take about three to four weeks, weather permitting, to complete the linkup of the two highways.

Zieba said work on the linkup was not expected to start until later this month. To complete the project, IDOT needed authority from the Corps of Engineers to cut into the levee along Sexton Creek north of Gale. He said the corps was concerned about cutting the levee until the threat of flooding from the nearby Mississippi River had diminished during the summer months.

The river at Cape Girardeau has been at or a few feet below flood stage for over two months.

Earlier, the National Weather Service had predicted the river would fall slowly during July, but Zieba said it began falling faster than expected, and the corps gave the state the go-ahead to start work last week.

Zieba said the new highway would have been completed and opened last fall had it not been for the threat of high water on the river.

The realigned highway between Gale and Thebes closely follows the former right-of-way of the Illinois Central's "Mud Line" railroad tracks from Murphysboro to Thebes, and the former Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad right-of-way that extended from the Union Pacific Railroad tracks into Thebes.

The realigned route climbs and descends along a steep bluff that provides a panoramic view of the Mississippi River from Gray's Point to Thebes. A highway department official said earlier this year plans are under consideration to construct a parking area along the new highway for motorists to park and enjoy the spectacular view of the river.

The opening of the 2.8 miles of highway on represents completion of phase one and two of a three-phase project that will realign 7.5 miles of Route 3 between Gale and Twente Crossing Road north of Olive Branch.

Work on phase 3 is now under way, and should be completed sometime in 1993, Zieba said.