ROAD REOPENED IN S. ILLINOIS

EAST CAPE GIRARDEAU, Ill. -- A county road from near East Cape Girardeau to north of Gale is open for traffic but does have water over sections of it.

"We closed that road last week," said Alexander County engineer Joe Plemons. "But, it remained closed only one day. We reopened it Saturday morning."

Motorists who were using the secondary road to avoid construction delays on Illinois 3, from Gale to the intersection of Illinois 146 and 3 lodged a number of complaints when it closed Friday.

"We felt the extra traffic on the water-soaked county road would cause damages to the soft subbase," Plemons said. "After hearing the complaints, we decided to be consistent throughout the county, closing roads only when the safety of motorists is at risk."

The road may yet be closed. There is water on the pavement in spots.

"If the seep water continues to rise it could become a safety hazard," Plemons said.

The biggest water problem on the road is near the south end near the Route 3 connection. In addition to water being over the road, some large potholes, not visible to motorists, can make for rough driving.

Seep water in northern Alexander County appears to be rising.

Meanwhile, with waters from the Mississippi and Ohio rivers slowly subsiding, most county roads are starting to show up again, noted Plemons.

However, at least one gravel road in the northern part of the county, from Gale to McClure, is still impassable, flooded by river backup waters along Sexton and Clear creeks.

Meanwhile paving four miles of Route 3, from the intersection of Routes 146/3 south to near Gale will start next week.

"We're in the process of final grading this week," said Ken Greenlee, engineering technician.

The first 3 inches of asphalt will be put down over the next two to three weeks, Greenlee said. That will prepare it for the final paving.

Some seven miles of highway improvements are scheduled in the flood repair project, designed to raise the level of the road in spots to an even level from the Mississippi River bridge to the intersection and from Gale to McClure on Route 3. The roads were raised several inches during the 1993 floods.

The complete project, including new culverts, raised shoulders and final paving is expected to be completed later this year.

Southern Illinois Asphalt of Mount Vernon, Ill., is primary contractor for the $3.1 million project.