OAK RIDGE TO FINALLY GET INTERCHANGE

OAK RIDGE -- Residents in Oak Ridge have waited 29 years for an interchange at Interstate 55 and the Route E overpass. This week, they received news that the interchange is set for construction.

"It's very good news," said Marvin McMillan. "I'm not going to flip my hat in the air just yet, but this sounds like it is some progress."

It's been a bumpy ride for Oak Ridge residents, who have been lobbying for the interchange since plans for I-55 were drawn in 1969.

Angie Wilson, spokesman for the Missouri Department of Transportation, said the Oak Ridge project is on a list of regional priorities and has been placed on the construction schedule for 2000.

A public hearing is set for Aug. 25 from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Oak Ridge School to share information on construction of the new interchange and the accompanying improvement to Route E.

Design plans should be finalized and right-of-way acquisition should take place in 1999, and construction of the new interchange is scheduled for 2000.

The project is projected to cost $2 million.

Oak Ridge Board of Trustees records show the Route E interchange was in the original plan for Interstate 55 in 1969, but wasn't built. The issue has come up several times since then, only to fade back into the shadows. Residents still must drive several miles to Fruitland or Jackson to get on Interstate 55.

In 1995, the Cape Girardeau County Commission had to choose between the Oak Ridge interchange and a newly proposed interchange at East Main Street in Jackson. The commission come out in support of the Oak Ridge project.

Oak Ridge was on MoDOT's 15-year construction plan, but the plan was soon scrapped.

In March 1997, a meeting was held in Oak Ridge with MoDOT officials to again discuss the project. At that time, all construction money was tied up through 1999.

"Since that time, we have been working in cooperation with the Southeast Missouri Planning Association," Wilson said. "Through that process, Oak Ridge was determined to be a regional priority. It was placed on the schedule for the year 2000, the earliest construction date that's possible."

McMillan said, "If this really does happen, it will be a tremendous asset to the whole area."

McMillan, who is an assistant fire chief of North Cape County Volunteer Fire Department, said quick access to the interstate will mean quicker response times for emergencies.

Traffic congestion at Fruitland should be eased. And it could mean an economic benefit for Oak Ridge.

"This is a lot better news than we've had in the past," he said. "But I'll be glad to see some construction equipment out here."

A committee of people from the region has been working on the project for years. Bruce Schoen said the committee hasn't met lately. His wife, Brenda, is chairman of the committee.

"We'll be meeting again soon," he said. "This seems like good news to us. This is closer than it's ever gotten before.

"We're going to wait and when they get the Cats up there we'll really be excited."

Cheri Fuemmeler, superintendent at Oak Ridge School, agreed that the news sounds good. The school has long been a supporter of an interchange.

"One of my biggest concerns is in an emergency," Fuemmeler said. "An ambulance or other emergency vehicle would be able to get here much more quickly."

"There are a lot of people excited and anxious," Fuemmeler said.

"We will be holding the public hearing in the school gym, and I expect we will have quite a few people here."

In addition to access ramps connecting Route E to the interstate, the project calls for some improvements along Route E.

In particular, Wilson said, a hill to the west of the overpass will be eliminated to provide better visibility for motorists.

The interchange at East Main in Jackson has been lumped into the planning process for a large highway project in Cape Girardeau County.

The state is looking for a way to ease traffic on Highway 34 through Jackson and Cape Girardeau. MoDOT is studying its options and expects to announce where the Highway 34 bypass will go this fall. Construction of the new highway won't start before 2002 at the earliest.

"The East Main project is in the mix," Wilson said.