SIEMERS DRIVE TO CLOSE FOR WIDENING PROJECT

The intersection of Bloomfield Road and Siemers Drive will be closed for two weeks for a construction project that will widen the road.

The work is expected to last six to eight weeks, city officials said. Eventually Siemers Drive will be closed from Bloomfield Road to Richmond Drive.

The project involves widening Siemers Drive from its current 32 feet to 48 feet, with 60-foot wide intersections. The project should create four lanes for traffic in the area.

Traffic will be directed to Kell Farm Drive during the work. Vehicles can still travel from the north along Route K.

The project is funded by the Transportation Trust Fund but the city agreed to move the timeline up by signing an agreement with Drury Southwest Inc. The Drury company will pay for the project now and will be reimbursed by the city when tax revenues are collected.

The Transportation Trust Fund is a half-cent sales tax collected in Cape Girardeau to help pay for road improvements and street projects. Voters first approved the tax in 1995 and extended it last August.