REPLACEMENT OF TREES AT PARK TO BE NEXT YEAR

An official with the Missouri Highway Department said Thursday the department won't attempt to plant trees at Wedekind Roadside Park until next year.

"There's no way to put back what was there, but we'll be trying to put back as much as we can," said Mike Perry, maintenance and traffic engineer with the department.

"We realize we're not putting back full-grown, 100-year-old trees."

About 40 trees were cut two weeks ago to allow for construction of a highway median through the park. The move prompted many complaints to the highway department after media reports said the department had issued a permit allowing a construction company to level the trees, Perry said.

The historic roadside park sits along Highway 61 between Cape Girardeau and Jackson. Few trees remain around the park and much of the area is now just a pile of dirt.

"I've been to the park myself and inspected it," Perry said, adding that the highway median will allow for easier access to the Missouri Veterans Home just west of Highway 61.

The project is financed by MidAmerica Hotels, Inc., which owns the property surrounding the park. A spokesman for the company has said a hotel will one day be built in that area.

Perry said the highway department follows a policy mandating replacement of trees cut because of construction work.

He said because of the number of complaints about Wedekind Park and its high visibility, the department is "taking a special look" at ways to restore the park.

But because construction work must be completed before trees and shrubs are planted, it will likely be next year before any landscaping or replanting is done, he said.

"We will try to make it as attractive as possible, but we can't go in and start trying to replant until all the work is done, at least the dirt work," he said. About 100,000 cubic feet of dirt is to be moved.

The park was donated to the state in May 1939 by Louisa Wedekind, who specified she wanted the land to be used for a park "to give its use to the people forever." She gave the property to the highway department.

The park was part of a beautification program that resulted in a 10-mile garden between Cape Girardeau and Jackson.

Perry said there was no way to build the median and preserve the trees. "It's definitely a traffic improvement in terms of safety and visibility," he said.

He said the department has withstood criticism for similar projects, and complaints are normal when a highly visible, longstanding site is changed.

"There are pros and cons to everything," he said.

"You've got the environmentalists who want to keep everything the same, and others who want to make improvements. It's hard to keep everybody happy."

Perry said in a few years, it is hoped the area will again be filled with vegetation.

"I wish people would give us four or five years before they pass judgment on us," he said.

The new entrance to the Veterans Home will provide access from both lanes of the highway. Currently only the southbound lane has an entrance to the home.

The median also paves the way for further development of the property around the home.

Perry said removal of the trees has provided better visibility in the intersection. He said the area was considered a traffic hazard because of the huge trees.

Any trees or shrubs planted will be small enough not to hinder visibility, he said.