NO AGREEMENT ON 34 BYPASS ROUTE; LOCAL OFFICIALS SEE PROBLEMS

A proposed bypass route through the Wolf Lane subdivision hasn't been endorsed by Cape Girardeau, Jackson or Cape Girardeau County officials.

In fact, none of the routes being proposed for a new Highway 34 from the Highway 34-72 intersection west of Jackson to the new Highway 74-Interstate 55 interchange in Cape Girardeau has been endorsed, say Cape Girardeau Mayor Al Spradling III, Jackson Mayor Paul Sander and Cape Girardeau County Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones.

The Missouri Department of Transportation has proposed nine alternatives to help ease traffic through Jackson. One of those -- referred to as Alternative 9, the southernmost route under study -- runs right through Wolf Lane subdivision off Bloomfield Road.

While all three officials say they like the concept of Alternative 9, the reality is less than palatable.

"Alternative 9 was the most appealing plan of the whole group," said Jones. "Never was it appealing to make a little circle around Jackson and dump the traffic right back onto 61 and 55 and Route K. That never was appealing at all, and it didn't solve any kind of problem at all."

Spradling and Jones don't want Wolf Lane residents to get the idea that officials from Cape Girardeau, Jackson or Cape Girardeau County suggested the route be drawn through their subdivision -- an idea they think the Department of Transportation might be promoting.

Spradling said officials did suggest bringing the bypass to new Highway 74 or the west end of Route K to draw traffic out of Jackson. "But we were not route specific," he said. "For some reason, MoDOT and the engineers have told the Wolf Lane people that's where we wanted it to go, and that's not the case."

Spradling said he thinks it is logical to route the bypass south of Wolf Lane or go north and build a bridge over Bloomfield Road.

Routing the bypass through Wolf Lane would mean tearing down a number of large homes, Spradling said, and that would make the project "extremely expensive."

The city prefers a southern route for the bypass, Spradling said. Cape Girardeau officials are concerned that bringing the bypass into Route K at the I-55 interchange would add too much traffic.

Sander said extending East Main Street to I-55 remains his city's priority.

"The interchange at East Main Street and Interstate 55 will continue to be what we push the hardest for in the next several years," Sander said.

The new interchange would be a "tremendous asset" for businesses and for improving traffic flow through the city and wouldn't cost nearly as much as the bypass alternatives under study, he said.

Cost of the East Main project is estimated at $3 million to $5 million, Sander said, "and that's small money compared to what we're talking about to build a highway bypass. And it will accomplish some of the same goals to move traffic in an orderly fashion."

Jackson and Cape Girardeau officials endorsed the East Main Street extension in a resolution at the cities' joint council meeting in January.

Jones said extending new Highway 74 from the interstate to Highway 25 is another priority, in addition to the East Main extension.

None of the alternatives proposed for the bypass is perfect, Sander and Jones said. One runs through a Jackson elementary school and another through the site for a new Wal-Mart Supercenter on Highway 61 in Jackson.

Jones suggested MoDOT engineers "get in the car and take a ride" to see what the proposed routes would impact.

None of the entities will endorse anything, he said, until they have more details on how the different routes will impact property owners.

Jones said he will be asking MoDOT for details on "which farms will be split in half, which residences will be affected, which businesses will be affected."

Representatives from QST Infrastructure Inc., the consultants working with MoDOT on the alternative routes for the bypass, said the southernmost segment of Alternative 9 was reinstated for consideration because several groups requested it.

Ray Steege of QST said designers are "fully aware" of the disruption Alternative 9 will cause in Wolf Lane.

"It's not a good situation," Steege said. "One of the things that we have as far as some flexibility is that corridor is approximately 1,000 feet wide, so there is some wiggle room."

But some houses in the subdivision would still be affected.

Bruce McNitt of QST said taking the route farther south would add length, which would make the bypass "unattractive to traffic."

And the route can't be taken north because the curve would be too severe to meet the speed limit standard needed for the roadway, McNitt said.

Local officials also question how much money MoDOT will be willing to sink into a bypass. Preliminary cost estimates for the bypass range from $22 million to $89 million.

"Is it a realistic goal to think that when options may be available for half the cost, the Highway Commission will approve an $89 million option, no matter how Cape and Jackson feel about it?" Sander asked.

MoDOT hopes to have a route designated by this fall, with construction beginning no sooner than 2002.