SAFETY: DEPARTMENT LOOKS TO FIX INTERCHANGE

The Missouri Highway and Transportation Department is considering options to improve traffic safety on Highway 61-34 beneath Interstate 55 between Cape Girardeau and Jackson.

One plan includes relocating the westbound lanes closer to the eastbound lanes, and eliminating the median from near the Veterans Home westward to where the dual lane highway comes together.

All of the options include removal of a hill between the lanes. The hill obstructs vision of drivers in the eastbound lanes, said District 10 Highway Engineer Freeman McCullah.

McCullah said he hopes a decision will be made this year and work can begin next spring.

The visual obstruction is to motorists attempting to make a left turn into the eastbound lanes or crossing the eastbound lanes to get into the southbound lanes of I-55. Visibility to the west of that intersection is obstructed by a grassy hill on the west side of the off-ramp.

McCullah said a second option is to remove only the hill between the dual lanes and leave the grassy median. But McCullah said that taking out the hill would only solve a part of the problem. He said the department plans to signalize the Highway 34-61-I-55 intersection in a few years.

"If we try to install traffic signals with that grassy median between the two lanes, it's going to be very difficult to synchronize the signals so traffic can move smoothly and safely," he said. "By relocating the westbound lanes of Highway 61-34 next to the eastbound lanes, and eliminating the grassy median, we can do a better job of signalizing the intersection," said McCullah.

The third option calls for the realignment of the left-turn lanes at the off-ramp intersections while maintaining the grassy median between the dual lanes.

"Obviously, the first option is the best, although it will be more expensive since it involves the relocation of the westbound lanes," said McCullah. "One of the reasons we're looking at traffic signals for this intersection is the increasing amount of high-speed traffic, and an increasing number of left-turn movements onto and off the dual-lane highway.

"This intersection will become even more congested with high-speed traffic as the area continues to develop. We will eventually have to signalize the intersection for traffic safety."

McCullah said he is discussing the options with the city of Jackson and Drury Development Corp., both of which have interests in the area near the intersection.

"We are actively working on the visibility problem at the intersection, but we want a plan that will take care of both the visibility problem and signalization problem," he said. "There was an attempt about two years ago to remove only the hill, but we could not get an agreement with all of the parties involved at the time."