STATE PLANS 2 COUNTY INTERCHANGES

Officials said action taken last week by the Missouri Highway Commission created a win-win situation for Jackson, Oak Ridge and Cape Girardeau County.

Thanks to a recommendation by the Missouri Highway and Transportation Department, Jackson has been placed on the department's 15-year plan with Oak Ridge, a plan that could allow for interstate interchanges to be built near both towns after 1998.

Oak Ridge had been on the list since Sept. 9, 1994, but in May highway department officials asked the Cape Girardeau County Commission to decide whether Jackson's proposed interchange might be a higher priority.

The commission said both projects were worthy of the department's plan but supported the Oak Ridge interchange because it already was on the list. The state highway commission approved a list Friday that included both interchanges.

"I think that's absolutely fantastic," said Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones. "That's what we were striving for all along was to get both interchanges."

Jones said interchanges at Route E for Oak Ridge residents and at the extension of East Main Street in Jackson would greatly benefit the county's economy.

"The county has no other way to grow except north," he said.

Jackson Mayor Paul Sander was surprised and pleased with the highway commission's decision to include Jackson in the 15-year plan. Although some residents initiated a letter-writing campaign and city officials attended highway meetings around the state touting the project, the city wasn't sure that perseverance would pay off.

"We felt all along that it was important to Jackson's future," he said. "But we had no idea what the final outcome would be. We feel relieved that many months of hard work has led to paid dividends."

Sander said the city owed a thanks to John Oliver, the Cape Girardeau lawyer who also has served as a highway commissioner, adding that without Oliver's support, the interchanges at both Oak Ridge and Jackson might not be included in the highway department's plan.

"I think this will mean millions of dollars in economic growth in the years to come," Sander said. "Anyone who travels through Jackson at the rush hour knows that there are intersections that are impassible. We just felt that the interchange and extension of East Main was imperative to the growth of Jackson."

Roger Tatum, a supporter of the Oak Ridge interchange, said he was happy Jackson was added to the plan because both towns supported each other's projects.

"We realized that Jackson will need an interchange too," Tatum said. "Oak Ridge was on the books first, and we keep pushing because we don't want the highway department to forget us."

Oliver said the highway department staff realized Jackson's interchange was necessary and the staff probably didn't have Jackson listed on the original plan because of an oversight.

"And just because Jackson has been added in no way diminishes Oak Ridge's chances," Oliver said. "Nothing was taken off the list; Jackson was just added."

He said he didn't know why the county commission was involved in ranking the interchange proposals.

Jim Murray, the highway department's District 10 engineer, said the Jackson project was kept off the plan because of financing.

"Some of that has been worked out," Murray said. "The work and planning they've done in Jackson gave us a feasible approach to look at."

Officials have said the Jackson project would cost about $4 million and the Oak Ridge project half that. But because Jackson worked to secure alternative federal money to help with the cost, the project became more attractive to the highway department.

Department officials familiar with the plan said both projects probably won't be built until after 2003, if at all.

"We don't promise anything more than three years down the road," Oliver said.