RAIN SLOWS AREA CONSTRUCTION WORK

May has been great for ducks but lousy for farmers and building contractors in need of dry weather.

It has rained 17 of the past 30 days in the Cape Girardeau area, making it difficult for farmers to get into fields and contractors to get done work such as footings poured or utility lines installed.

The wet weather also is creating serious damage to this year's winter wheat crop.

Robbie Roberts, building inspector for the city of Jackson, said: "May has been a pretty rough month for contractors trying to pour foundations and put in plumbing. There's not a whole lot of outdoor work going on this month because of the weather.

"You start work one day, get a couple days work in, then it rains and that's it for a while. The ground is too wet to work and it doesn't have a chance to dry out before the next rain comes."

As of Thursday, rain at Cape Girardeau Municipal Airport totaled 4.42 inches during May. That's below the long-term average of 4.74 inches for the month.

But the May measurement there is misleading.

While the airport received .01 of an inch of rain on May 20, between 2 and 4 inches fell at the same time in Cape Girardeau. Similar heavy rains have fallen during the month in scattered areas surrounding Cape Girardeau, making any prolonged field work nearly impossible.

Roberts said the wet weather has delayed the start of several major capital improvement projects in Jackson.

A Bainbridge Road improvement from Old Cape Road east to Donna Drive is about two weeks behind schedule because utility crews have been unable to move water, gas and utility lines and utility poles. Until they are moved, work on the street cannot begin, Roberts said.

A Jackson Trails Drive that connects Highway 25 with the Jackson Industrial Park is on schedule only because the contractor was able to get more work done than expected last fall and winter, he said. "The contractor is getting close to starting to lay pavement, if the weather will cooperate," Roberts said.

Not affected as yet by the weather is a water- and sewer-line extension along East Jackson Boulevard.

"They've got a lot of rock removal to do, so the wet weather hasn't bothered them," Roberts said. "But, if it doesn't dry out after the rock removal work is completed, the wet ground could be a problem."

Roberts said very little work has been done this month in new housing subdivisions. "You can't put in gas, water, sewer, or underground utilities when the ground is wet," he said.

The situation is about the same perhaps worse in Cape Girardeau. Some parts of Cape Girardeau have received five or more inches of rain this month.

Charles Hoppe, chief code inspector for the city, said very little work has been done in new subdivisions on the northwest side of town or on new commercial buildings.

"You've got to have dry weather before you can pour the footings and foundations," said Hoppe. "Most of our inspections this month have been on indoor projects; we haven't done a lot of outdoor work."

Jim Tilley of the public works department said the wet weather has delayed work on a Lexington Street extension and two sanitary sewer projects on the southwest side of the city near Interstate 55 and Highway 74.

Thanks to some dry weather this week, work has resumed on the west end of Lexington near Route W.

Although not directly affected by this month's wet weather, Tilley said work on a new bridge over Juden Creek, near Twin Trees Park on Cape Rock Drive, cannot begin until the Mississippi River drops to at least 25 feet on the Cape Girardeau gauge. The river is backed up into the creek, which empties into the river about a half mile from the bridge site.

"We're in the process of taking out the damaged wooden bridge right now, but we won't be able to start work on the piers for the new bridge until the river falls," said Tilley.

The National Weather Service says the Mississippi here will remain near 30 feet through the end of the week. The river stage Thursday was 30.2 feet. It is predicted to drop to 29.2 feet by Sunday.

The Ohio River at Cairo will crest at 40.2 feet Thursday. It was forecast to fall to 36.2 feet by Sunday.

The 30-day outlook for the river calls for it to drop from 27.1 feet on Wednesday to 20.6 feet by June 26. The Ohio at Cairo is forecast to drop from 30.5 feet on Wednesday to 22.8 feet by June 26.

National Weather Service hydrologist Jack Burns cautioned the readings are subject to change if significant precipitation occurs along the upper Mississippi, Missouri and Illinois rivers. Heavy rains fell Wednesday and Thursday in parts of Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and northern Illinois.

The extended forecast for the area calls for a continued chance of spotty showers and thunderstorms with warm temperatures and high humidity.