RESIDENTS ON PERRYVILLE ROAD GET ANSWERS

Perryville Road residents had different opinions on the city's plans for their street, but their technical questions were answered Thursday at the A.C. Brase Arena Building.

About 50 people attended an open house sponsored by the city of Cape Girardeau to help people understand proposed road improvements. Black & Veach, a St. Louis engineering firm, designed the plans, which were enlarged and spread out on tables.

Engineers were present to tell people what impact the proposal, if completed, will have on their property.

When citizens passed the half-cent Transportation Sales Tax in August, many had Perryville Road in mind for improvements. The well-traveled stretch between Lexington Avenue and the city limits is narrow, hilly and curvy.

Several of the residents who attended Thursday's open house had accident stories to tell.

"I think it's a wonderful idea to improve the road," Dorothy Plumb said. "We live on the corner of Perryville and Belleridge Pike, and we've called the police and ambulance many times when cars ended up in the ditch. People's vision is impaired as they pull onto the road."

Steve Ketchum, project supervisor, said improvements would make Perryville Road 36 feet wide from just past Meyer Drive out to the city limits. Sidewalks would be added, and several ditches would be changed to storm sewers.

Several people stopped to talk with Ketchum and other Black & Veach personnel.

"They want to know if they will have access during construction," Ketchum said. "The road will not be closed end-to-end, but sections will have to be torn up and replaced. We have a traffic control plan to make sure people can get to their driveways at all times."

The project cost estimate is $1.1 million, but City Manager Mike Miller said cost to individual residents hasn't been determined. Much of it will be defrayed by the Transportation Trust Fund.

Patricia Summers and her neighbor, Marilyn Cox, don't like the plans at any cost. Both said a wider road would encourage more speeding and, as a result, more car accidents.

"I don't like them taking my property to widen the road, and we don't need it wider," Summers said. "It's a race track anyway, and it will get worse."

The city has scheduled another open house to answer questions about Bloomfield Road on Aug. 15.