Phase one of Jackson street extension going quickly

Construction of the East Main Street extension project is moving along faster and is less expensive than Jackson officials anticipated.

The first phase of the project that will extend East Main Street to the future Interstate 55 interchange is 60 percent complete, said public works director Rodney Bollinger.

All that remains is grading work, landscaping and the installation of water lines, which Bollinger said will be finished before the late-October deadline. The lowest bid for the project was $260,000 less than the engineering estimate of $864,355.

Last week, the city sent out invitations to bid on phase 2 of the project, which includes the concrete paving of the four-lane road and sidewalks. The phase is estimated to cost $600,000.

Bollinger hopes the entire project will be complete before the end of the year or early January. "We're real pleased with the progress. I certainly hope bids for this second phase come in as competitive as the first," he said. "After this second phase is done, it will conclude our part of the project."

The Missouri Department of Transportation will pick up the remainder of the project and will construct East Main Street under I-55, much like the Fruitland interchange.

At the beginning of the month, the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission awarded an $8.1 million construction contract for the new I-55 interchange. Work is expected to get underway in early September, MoDOT officials said.

Resident engineer Darius Dowdy said interstate traffic will be reduced to one lane in each direction and then diverted onto ramps. It shouldn't cause significant traffic delays since traffic is lighter in that area than south of Center Junction, he said.

Federal, state, local and Southeast Missouri State University officials will hold a groundbreaking ceremony for the project at 1:30 p.m. Thursday. The ceremony is scheduled to be held at 2596 County Road 618, about 1.7 miles from Route W.

The ceremony will be held at the Missouri Department of Conservation Campus at Cape Girardeau County Park North in case of rain.

U.S. Sens. Kit Bond and Jim Talent and U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson are scheduled to speak. Jackson and Cape Girardeau high school bands will perform at the event.

"That's going to be a good day. It's probably the biggest groundbreaking we've had in this area in a long time," Bollinger said. "It's going to be a real big deal."

The entire interchange project is expected to be complete in late 2007.

jfreeze@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 246