New store by bridge raises car concerns

A proposed Bi-State Southern convenience store and gas station has fueled controversy over whether it would create traffic jams near the new Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge.

Neighborhood residents say it will. Missouri Department of Transportation officials don't expect a traffic problem. Cape Girardeau city officials aren't sure.

The city council is scheduled to hold a public hearing on Oct. 6.

Mayor Jay Knudtson said city officials will study the issue to determine if development of the vacant lot would create a traffic problem at the intersection of Sprigg Street and Highway 74, east of the new Mississippi River bridge.

Bi-State Southern owner Scott Blank wants to build the 4,000-square-foot convenience store and gas station on the southeast corner of the intersection.

Blank said the entrance to the business would be from Sprigg Street, since the Missouri Department of Transportation won't allow a private drive on the limited access state Highway 74 route for safety reasons and better traffic flow.

Under city regulations, the entrance would have to be at least 50 feet from the Sprigg Street-Highway 74 intersection, city manager Doug Leslie said.

He said a site plan would have to meet with city approval before the project could proceed.

One step toward approval was taken last week when the Planning and Zoning Commission recommended it.

The mayor said city officials may ask MoDOT to do computer modeling of the traffic patterns at the intersection to determine if there could be traffic tie-ups.

Barry Horst, MoDOT project development engineer in Sikeston, said state highway engineers don't anticipate any traffic problems at the intersection.

Installation of traffic lights at the Highway 74 and Fountain Street intersection to the east will help slow traffic before it gets to Sprigg Street, Horst said. In addition, there will be a left-turn lane so westbound traffic won't be backed up by motorists turning south on Sprigg Street, he said.

But neighbors insist that a convenience store and gas station would create a traffic nightmare.

"That is a train wreck waiting to happen," said James Coley, one of the operators of the Rose Bed Inn -- a bed-and-breakfast across Sprigg Street from the proposed station.

Eldon Nattier, who operates the Rose Bed Inn with Coley, said he and his neighbors aren't opposed to commercial development, just a convenience store because it leads to a lot of traffic pulling in and out to purchase fuel, alcohol and cigarettes.

Nattier said the proposed development would sell diesel fuel. He worries it will attract tractor-trailers.

But Blank, the developer, said that the business won't attract truckers because the driveway won't be wide enough for large trucks to easily turn into the property.

Blank said the development will improve the southside neighborhood. He said the convenience store's exterior will have a rustic look and the site will be well landscaped.

Knudtson said the city needs to address the traffic issue now rather than after the nearby bridge opens late this year and traffic picks up at the intersection. The intersection currently is open to traffic on all but the east side.

mbliss@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 123