ROAD TO NEXT CENTURY PAVED WITH POTENTIAL

The road to the 21st century in Southeast Missouri may be a toll road or a two-lane superhighway or any number of other highway improvements.

But roads are just one part of the region's transportation future, officials say. The Southeast Missouri Regional Port Authority and the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport also figure into the picture, as does rail service.

"We need more seamless transportation," said Scott Meyer, district engineer for the Missouri Transportation Department in Sikeston.

Good highways are important. But so too is river, rail and air traffic.

All these forms of transportation need to be interconnected, he said.

"How we build and what we build is so important to economic development," Meyer said.

"One of the major themes of the 21st century is competitiveness in the worldwide market," he said. "We are no longer in an age where Cape Girardeau is competing with Poplar Bluff. We are moving into an age where Missouri is going to be competing with other countries."

Transportation is vital in the worldwide marketplace, he said.

The Cape Girardeau Regional Airport could become an even bigger factor in the region's transportation picture in the coming century, Meyer said.

Industries are moving away from large inventories of supplies and parts. Instead, companies are moving to just-in-time deliveries.

Meyer said that could lead to greater use of air freight.

Walter Denton, administrative assistant to the Cape Girardeau city manager, said the city airport has the potential to handle air-freight operations.

The city owns land around the airport that one day could be developed into an industrial park, he said.

Denton said the city's long-range plans include lengthening the main runway to accommodate larger planes. That could be important in any effort to land an air-freight operation.

The city also would like to attract another commuter airline. The airport currently is served by only one commuter airline, which ferries passengers to and from St. Louis.

Traffic at the airport should increase in the coming century, said Tom Tucker, executive director of the Southeast Missouri Regional Planning and Economic Development Commission.

Only a few miles east of the airport is the Southeast Missouri Regional Port on the Mississippi River.

The Nash Road extension project should be completed this year. "I think it is going to have a tremendous impact on the access to the port site," said Tucker.

Improved access will encourage the hauling of more freight to and from the port, he said.

Southeast Missouri has lost some of its rail service over the years. Tucker said it is important to keep remaining rail service.

As the population ages, there also will be a need for improved public transit systems such as van services, he said.

He said the elderly often don't have family nearby to haul them to the doctor or the grocery store. In such cases, he said, public transportation is vital.

Tucker said the opening of the new Mississippi River bridge at Cape Girardeau early in the next century will generate increased traffic in the area.

In the future, Tucker would like to see a connection to Interstate 57.

He said he hopes improvements will be made to the region's major state highways, such as 72, 67, 32 and 34.

The widening of Highway 60 to four lanes across southern Missouri will be a transportation plus, he said.

Two-lane, superhighways could be built. They would have turn lanes at intersections to keep traffic flowing smoothly, Tucker said.

He said Missouri can't rely just on state and federal taxes to help pay for highway improvements.

"I think we are probably going to have to take a careful look at other financing mechanisms such as toll roads," said Tucker.

Meyer said local governments will help pay for major transportation projects in the future.

"We have to build partnerships," he said.

Meyer said there always will be a need to build new roads to meet the needs of the region.

It isn't like building a house, he said. "We don't get to buy the whole house at once. We put the foundation down today. We are building on it every year," he said.