RAINS DELAY PROJECTS; ROAD WORK IN CAPE, JACKSON AWAITS CLEAR SKIES

Farmers and businesses aren't the only ones affected by the wet spring weather this year.20Work on several major street improvements and other capital projects in Cape Girardeau and Jackson have been delayed because of rainy weather the past 45 days.

Cape Girardeau City Engineer Kensey Russell says the wet weather has delayed the start of the Lexington Street extension project from Perryville Road to Sherwood. "We were finally able to get some work started last week. We would have gotten started in early April if the weather had cooperated," he said.

Another street project delayed by wet weather is the extension of Whitener Street with Silver Springs Road, west of Arena Park. The contract was let late last year. Russell said the project is 50 percent complete. The work will extend Whitener from Pindwood to Silver Springs Road.

Russell said two other capital improvement projects have also been slowed by the wet weather.

"We're still trying to complete the San Dangaro sanitary trunk sewer project. It's about 85-90 percent complete. If the weather will improve, we can get that job finished this month or in early June," he said. "We've also had some weather-related delays on the South Henderson Street sewer project, but that should be completed within the next 30 days or so, depending on the weather. All of the trunk sewer line is in place. The contractor is now in the process of making street repairs and changes to the water mains."

In Jackson, the wet weather is delaying the start of several projects, according to Ward 2 Alderman Kevin Sawyer, who is a member of the street committee.

"As soon as it's dry enough, the contractor can start work on the entrance road into Brookside Park. The road will be paved from the intersection of Brookview and Goodson, in the Sunset Hills subdivision, to the parking lot in the park," Sawyer said. "We're also waiting for good weather to begin the Greensferry Road improvement."

The work on Greensferry Road will include cutting back a steep hill and widening the road to give northbound motorists on Greensferry Road a better view of the Clark Street intersection.

The steep hill has created a traffic hazard for motorists trying to pull onto Greensferry from Clark, and school children trying to cross Greensferry to catch the bus.

Sawyer said the paving contractor is also waiting for better weather to begin paving the asphalt parking lot behind businesses located in the 100 block of South High and the 100 block of West Main.

Although the weather delayed work on the East Jackson Boulevard sanitary sewer project during the winter, Sawyer said work has been able to continue this spring. This part of the project includes construction of a lift station and forced sewer main from near I-55 to a point west of Kohlfeld Distributing Co., where it will connect with a gravity flow trunk sewer to the Williams Creek lift station.

Sawyer said the major street improvement in Jackson this year will be the West Adams project. That will include removing the old pavement and putting down new pavement, from near the Hubble Creek Bridge, eastward to the intersection of South High Street. The project will also include the re-paving of Missouri and Russell streets, between West Adams and West Main Street.

"That project should be ready for bidding in early June. I hope by that time, the weather will be more summer-like so the work can continue without a lot of interruption," said Sawyer. "This project is funded by our city transportation tax."

Several asphalt street overlay projects in residential and commercial areas of Jackson are tentatively planned later this summer, but Sawyer said that work will depend on whether or not the city's Community Development Block Grant application is funded by the state. Names of cities whose CDBG applications have been funded will be released in Jefferson City in early or mid-June.