REDESIGNED 34 BYPASS MISSES TWO SUBDIVISIONS

The redesigned Segment T for the proposed Highway 34 bypass swings north of two subdivisions that previously may have been endangered by road construction.

The southernmost route for the Highway 34 bypass -- also referred to as Alternative 9 -- had stirred up controversy because it endangered homes in Briarwood Estates and Stonebridge subdivisions off Bloomfield Road.

The Missouri Department of Transportation is studying several alternatives for the bypass to ease traffic congestion between Cape Girardeau and Jackson. Most of the bypasses would run from the Highway 34-72 junction at Jackson to somewhere along Route K or new Highway 74 in Cape Girardeau.

The redesign meant making some changes in how the new route might be used, said Ray Steege, project manager for QST Infrastructure Inc., MoDOT consultants on the bypass study.

Segment T had originally been designed as "more of an expressway," using minimum curves to intersect with new Highway 74, Steege said.

The change was necessary when it was realized how much the two subdivisions would be impacted, he said.

MoDOT approved changing the intersection of Segment T and new Highway 74 to an at-grade structure, which allowed for changes in the design, Steege said.

Residents of the two subdivisions were concerned Segment T would require tearing down their houses or running too much traffic through their quiet, wooded neighborhoods.

Sherry Vandergraaf, a resident of Briarwood Estates, said MoDOT is "just bending over backwards" to try to work out residents' concerns.

Scott Perry, a transportation project designer with MoDOT, said the state has to look at several factors when deciding where to put a new roadway, including environmental impact and the impact on existing homes and businesses.

"We don't want to hit a bunch of houses if we don't have to," Perry said.

The redesigned Segment T could impact a concrete company off Bloomfield Road.

"That's the bad part," Perry said. "If you swap something, you have to trade something out. But we tried to swap off one impact for a lesser impact."

QST is still studying how the redesign might impact project cost. "We don't see the cost as being substantially different," Steege said.

The redesign shouldn't affect the project time frame, either. MoDOT expects to have its final alternative chosen late this year, Perry said.

He and QST representatives stressed that while Segment T was redesigned to accommodate residents' concerns, that is not an indication it is the alternative that will be chosen.

Maps showing the alternatives for the Highway 34 bypass -- including the new Segment T -- are on display at the public libraries in Cape Girardeau and Jackson, at the Chamber of Commerce offices in both cities and at the Cape Girardeau County Courthouse.

The maps will be on display through October.