Scott City will try to limit tanker truck traffic on Main Street

~ The city hopes to divert the tankers to Route AB, from Interstate 55 to the Southeast Missouri Port Authority.

The Scott City government is set to talk with the TEPPCO petroleum pipeline facility just outside the city limits in an attempt to limit tanker truck traffic through town.

At Monday's regular city council meeting, a group of firefighters and Scott City fire chief Jay Cassout discussed the issue with the city council, spurred by the recent crash of a tanker truck carrying diesel fuel on Interstate 55 in Cape Girardeau.

While Cassout said there have been few accidents involving tanker trucks in Scott City, the potential for a crash is always there.

About 250 tankers travel through Scott City each day, according to numbers from the city fire department. All of those trucks travel Main Street, a state route that serves as the main artery for traffic through the city, and the only route that can take vehicles from one side of Scott City to the other without diversion.

Agreeable solution

The city hopes to limit tanker truck traffic down Main Street by diverting that traffic to a route built to accommodate truck traffic, Route AB, which leads from Interstate 55 to the Southeast Missouri Port Authority.

Mayor Tim Porch said he hasn't approached TEPPCO with the proposal yet, but will talk to company representatives soon.

One way to force tankers off Main Street would be to attempt getting a local delivery-only designation for the road. But Porch said he doesn't want to pursue the designation yet, preferring to work with companies to reach a solution agreeable to all parties.

"We're not going to rush through it," said Porch. "We don't want the trucking companies to get angry."

Ward 3 Councilman Kirk Lewis, who works for TEPPCO, said he agrees with Porch's goal. Lewis said he can't speak for his employer, but he supports the idea as a council member, saying the idea is a good one if it doesn't interfere with business.

The concerns apply only to tanker trucks, Porch said, due to the nature of the product they carry, not to other trucking.

No speeding

Scott City has a zero-tolerance policy for speeding when it comes to big trucks, said police chief Don Cobb, and trucks are regularly stopped for speeding because of the sheer volume of traffic. Cobb said he likes the idea of reducing tanker traffic from a public safety perspective, but "we do not want to hinder commerce."

Speed isn't as much of an issue as reducing tanker traffic, said Porch.

"We can regulate speed," Porch said. Porch points out that the city has experienced very few crashes involving tanker trucks, but the city would like to prevent such crashes from occurring in the future.

msanders@semissourian.com

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