SURVEY WORK TO WIDEN HIGHWAY ALMOST COMPLETE

JACKSON -- They have been outside almost every day, weather permitting, wearing bright orange jackets and planting flags along Highway 72.

Soon, the Missouri Highway and Transportation Department survey crews will pack up their gear and move to their next assignment. The information they collected in Jackson will be used to make Highway 72 a three-lane road -- with eastbound and westbound lanes and a turn lane.

A two-mile stretch between the intersection of Highways 25 and 72 and the western Jackson city limits will be affected.

But drivers won't see any construction work until after 1999, because the highway isn't on the Highway Department's short-term plan. District 10 Engineer Jim Murray said surveying had to begin in 1996 even though construction work is a long way off.

Plan development and right-of-way acquisition will be the most time-consuming. With all the residential property along Highway 72 inside the Jackson city limits, Murray estimated it may take six months to a year to work things out with all the property owners.

City Administrator Steve Wilson said he wished the Highway Department could speed up the project, admitting that people in every city affected by highway department projects probably feel the same way.

He pointed out a few safety hazards associated with narrow Highway 72, including the congestion of parents and buses in the morning and afternoon. The cause is two elementary schools and the junior high school located on Jackson's west side.

In addition, police officers can't pull drivers over for traffic violations because there aren't any shoulders on the road. Police have to direct drivers into business parking lots or driveways -- not the most desirable situation, Wilson said.

"Going west, you almost get to the city limits before you can pull them over," he said. "At least traffic is so backed up during busy times that people can't speed as much."