Officials look for compromise on Center Junction

If there was one thing everyone at the Southeast Metropolitan Planning Organization (SEMPO) meeting Wednesday could agree on, it was you can't please everybody.

"But we're looking for a solution everyone can live with," said Missouri Department of Transportation district engineer Mark Shelton.

He and other Missouri Department of Transportation representatives attending the SEMPO meeting discussed the latest plan for redesigning the U.S. 61 interchange at Interstate 55 known as Center Junction between Cape Girardeau and Jackson.

The project, 2021 tentatively scheduled to start next spring and last until November, involves construction of a diverging diamond interchange, which would eliminate left turns onto U.S. 61. It would also include replacement of the 600-foot interstate bridges over the highway with two 200-foot spans.

When MoDOT bid the project in May, the plan called for all ramps onto and off of the interstate as well as U.S. 61 to remain open throughout the project.

Doing so would force traffic on 61 to be reduced to one lane in either direction from time to time.

However, bids came in several million dollars above project estimates and were rejected June 5 by the Missouri Highway Commission.

MoDOT officials spent the rest of June redesigning the project and came up with a plan it said would save as much as $3 million. It called for closing U.S. 61 for about seven months but would keep all ramps to and from the interstate open. That plan was strongly opposed by Cape Girardeau and Jackson officials as well as the chambers of commerce and business representatives of both communities, who said it was imperative to keep traffic flowing on 61 between the cities.

MoDOT then developed a compromise plan to keep at least two lanes of U.S. 61 open but requiring closure of the southbound exit I-55 ramp at Exit 99 as well as the northbound ramp leading to the interstate from Highway 61. In addition, the plan would also force some traffic on Highway 61 to make U-turns in order to navigate construction detours at Center Junction.

For some community members at the meeting, including Ed Ross, this would not be an acceptable option. Ross, owner of Ross Furniture on East Jackson Boulevard (Highway 61), said he would lose business if his customers cannot reach his business easily.

"Customers are pretty fickle," he said. "If it's not easy, they won't come, and if we shut down exits it will hurt pretty bad."

Losing customers, Ross said, will hurt his bottom line. "We're not trying to be greedy, but we're talking about survival," he said.

Robin Cole, who owns a business and property in the vicinity of Center Junction, questioned whether the project was even necessary.

"What is the upside for Cape and Jackson to do this project at all?" he asked and said with proper maintenance, the interstate bridges, constructed in the early 1960s, "will last another 50 years."

However, Shelton said the interstate bridges need to be replaced with structures designed for future traffic volumes. He also noted diverging diamond interchanges have been shown to reduce traffic crashes by up to 80%.

"Of all the various types of intersections, diverging diamonds do the best for the longest period of time in managing traffic," he said.

Several people at the meeting expressed concern the money MoDOT saves by redesigning the project will be offset by business losses and reduced sales tax revenue. "I think the economic impact will be in the millions," said Jackson Mayor Dwain Hahs, a SEMPO board member.

He asked Shelton and the other MoDOT representatives if they had done an economic impact study to determine how either version of the project -- the one closing Highway 61 completely for seven months or the one prohibiting interstate access -- would impact the area economy.

Shelton said MoDOT is not able to provide those estimates.

Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce president and SEMPO representative John Mehner suggested "looking at both plans side by side would be a prudent thing to do."

In response to Mehner's suggestion, SEMPO chairman and Cape Girardeau Mayor Bob Fox agreed there needed to be "more clarity" and asked MoDOT to prepare summaries of both construction options SEMPO members can review at a special meeting scheduled for July 26.

Although SEMPO's approval is not necessary for the project to proceed, MoDOT would prefer to have the committee's buy-in on one plan or the other.

According to SEMPO staff member and Cape Girardeau city planner Ryan Shrimplin, "ultimately, it will be MoDOT's decision."