PUBLIC TO CRUISE THROUGH ROAD PLANS

Engineers have been in the driver's seat when it comes to shaping improvements to three heavily traveled streets in Cape Girardeau.

The public will get its first opportunity to cruise through plans for Perryville and Bloomfield roads, Broadway and traffic signal upgrades at open houses this summer and fall.

An open house for the Perryville Road improvements will be held July 11; for the Bloomfield Road project, Aug. 15, and for the Broadway project and traffic signal improvements, Oct. 3.

All three open houses will be at the A.C. Brase Arena Building from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Mark Lester, city engineer, said the meetings aren't public hearings.

There will be no formal presentations. People can come to the open houses at any time during the three-hour sessions.

"We will have the preliminary design of road improvements," he said.

There will be maps of the projects and fact sheets at the open houses. Comment cards will be available.

City staff and consultants will be there to answer questions.

Months ago the city hired the firm of Black & Veatch to do the basic engineering for these key projects to be funded with transportation tax money.

The engineering work will cost an estimated $355,000. Included in that cost is more than $30,000 for a St. Louis public relations firm.

The firm, Vandiver Group, will inform citizens about the progress of the projects and obtain public input on plans for the transportation work.

Lester said the open houses are an important way to keep the public informed about the projects. "We are spending their money. We do encourage their input," he said.

At the July 11 open house, the public will see engineering plans for the Perryville Road improvements that are 50 to 75 percent complete, Lester said.

Citizens don't have to be at the open houses to voice their views. The city recently mailed out informational fliers with utility bills. The flier includes a form for residents to inquire or comment about the road projects.

About 20 to 25 comment cards already have been received by the city, Lester said. "They range from, `Why aren't you doing my street first?' to "We need a stoplight somewhere else.'"

While Black & Veatch is designing the improvements, the city will review the plans.

"In essence, they are working for the city and we, in turn, get to yeah or nay anything they do," said Lester.

Perryville Road will be widened to 36 feet from the existing concrete pavement near Meyer Drive to the city limits at Hanover Lutheran Church.

The one-mile section of the road currently varies from 30 to 22 feet in width, said Lester.

The $1.1 million construction project is slated to begin this fall and be completed by next spring.

Bloomfield Road will be widened and reconstructed for more than a mile between Kingshighway and the bridge over Interstate 55 at a cost of nearly $900,000.

Construction is set to begin next spring and be completed by fall 1997.

The Broadway project involves planning for improvements from Clark to West End Boulevard, although construction will stop at Perry.

The $577,000 project involves widening Broadway to four lanes and improving drainage.

Construction is slated to begin this winter and be completed by next summer.

Also on the drawing board are plans to upgrade traffic signals at 11 intersections on Broadway, Independence and Sprigg at a cost of $250,000.

Work is scheduled to start this fall and be completed by winter.