Officials, residents, business owners weigh in on Center Junction project

Jackson business owners generally agree the interchange at the junction of U.S. 61 and Interstate 55 between Cape Girardeau and Jackson needs to be upgraded.

They also overwhelmingly say any construction at the interchange must be done without disrupting traffic, or at least with as little disruption as possible, according to Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Brian Gerau.

The Missouri Department of Transportation has proposed two plans for redesign of the interchange, commonly referred to as Center Junction, with a goal of replacing the twin 60-year-old, 600-foot interstate bridges over U.S. 61 with a pair of shorter spans and redesigning U.S. 61 to incorporate a “diverging diamond interchange.” MoDOT hopes to bid the project this fall and begin construction in the spring of 2020, with a projected completion date of Nov. 1, 2021.

One MoDOT proposal calls for the complete closure of U.S. 61 at Center Junction for up to seven months next year. The other would keep at least two of the four U.S. 61 lanes open for most of the construction project, but would close both the interstate’s southbound exit ramp and northbound entrance ramp for much of the project period. Both plans were developed after bids for an earlier plan, which would have kept the highway and interstate ramps open throughout the construction period, exceeded MoDOT’s budget for the project.

Center Junction will be the primary — and possibly only — agenda item at this week’s meeting of the Southeast Metropolitan Planning Organization (SEMPO). The meeting is set for Wednesday in Cape Girardeau and Cape Girardeau Mayor Bob Fox, who serves as the SEMPO chairman, has said he plans to ask members of the group to vote on the two proposals.

The vote will be nonbinding and will only be an expression of SEMPO’s preference between MoDOT’s proposals.

Gerau and the Jackson chamber began asking members for their opinions about the projects several weeks ago. Specifically, the chamber wants to know what they think about either closing U.S. 61 or the interstate entrance and exit ramps for much of the project period.

“The responses of the businesses and community have been overwhelmingly negative,” Gerau said, adding there has been “massive concern over the accessibility to businesses, especially businesses within close proximity of the project.”

Gerau said the Jackson chamber receives letters every day expressing concern about the project.

“We’ll be accepting these letters (and forwarding them to MoDOT) up until a final decision is made,” he said. “Our job as a chamber is to listen to businesses and advocate on their behalf. We are supporting them 100%.”

Between 20,000 and 25,000 vehicles pass through Center Junction on U.S. 61 every day. It is the most traveled route between Cape Girardeau and Jackson.

“It’s the busiest road we have,” Jackson Mayor Dwain Hahs noted Friday during the Jackson chamber’s monthly breakfast.

“I support the project. The (interstate) bridges have to be replaced, and I think the new interchange will help our businesses,” the mayor said, but added closing U.S. 61 is unacceptable. As for closing the ramps leading to and from the interstate for a half year or longer, Hahs said he and the Jackson Board of Aldermen “are objecting to that. We think it’s too long and we think there are other ways to do it.”

Concerns

Rob Stephens owns Heartland Custom Flooring in Cape Girardeau, but at one time the business was along East Jackson Boulevard (U.S. 61) in Jackson, within a mile or two of Center Junction.

“Having run a business less than 2 miles from that intersection, I know that we probably would have suffered tremendously from a shutdown at Center Junction,” he said. “Businesses in Jackson have to work very hard to get customers from Cape to come visit Jackson as it is, and it would only make it that much harder if traffic is impeded. Several small businesses in Jackson could even be forced to close due to the financial impact. That could mean the loss of a lot of jobs.”

Stephens added, “on a personal note, I also know how important this intersection is for the health of Jackson.”

He explained he lives near Route PP, 2 miles beyond the Jackson city limits. Two years ago, he had a health emergency requiring an ambulance.

“When one of the EMTs asked my wife which hospital to take me to, she told them to take me to Southeast since that’s where my cardiologist is. The other EMT said they would have to take me to Saint Francis because I wouldn’t survive the extra time it would take to get to Southeast. If we had a complete shutdown of the (I-55/U.S. 61) intersection, they might not have even gotten to me in time and I probably wouldn’t have even made it to Saint Francis, so I’m very concerned about how the traffic will affect others in similar circumstances.”

Mike Kohlfeld owns Kohlfeld Distributing just north of Center Junction along U.S. 61. The wholesale distribution and warehousing business receives and ships beverages throughout the region.

“We were asked by the chamber to send a letter to MoDOT expressing our concerns, especially about the original plan (to close U.S. 61), which we did,” Kohlfeld said

“I don’t think MoDOT wants to do anything that would destroy businesses, so I’m sure they’re mindful of the concerns,” he continued. “There are a lot of smart people in both cities and at MoDOT and hopefully they can figure it out.”

Kohlfeld said his biggest concern is being able to receive and deliver product shipments if highway construction interferes with tractor-trailer access to the Kohlfeld warehouse.

“We’re right on top of Center Junction,” he said. “I know MoDOT should be a lot more concerned about retail establishments than a wholesaler. I get that. But whatever they come up with, we’ll just have to figure out a way to make it work.”

For now, Kohlfeld said he and other business owners will have to wait to see what MoDOT proposes as the best way to proceed with the project.

“To be honest, I’m not spending a lot of time thinking about it or worrying about it,” he said. “Whenever they tell us what’s going to happen, then we’re going to have to figure it out, but to worry about the sky falling right now without anything concrete is just counterproductive. We’re going to have to wait and see what they come up with.”

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