TRAFFIC JAM: LOCAL GOVERNMENTS QUESTION HIGHWAY PLAN

When Cape Girardeau County Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones looks at the maps to improve traffic flow around Jackson and Cape Girardeau, he sees problems.

Cape Girardeau Mayor Al Spradling and Jackson City Manager Steve Wilson see the same troubles.

A St. Louis consulting firm has made seven proposals, but none matches the one suggested by local officials.

"I just don't think they are listening, and I know they haven't been here to look," said Jones. "They need to pay a little more attention to the local officials instead of drawing lines on a dadgum map."

One proposal cuts through the new Jackson South Elementary School. Another dumps more traffic onto the already congested Interstate 55 and Route K interchange in Cape Girardeau. One moves Jackson's traffic load to a different spot on Highway 61. Another travels across stream beds.

In response to local concerns to five original proposals, the consulting firm added two options that use the new Highway 74 interchange.

But Jones said he hasn't seen any evidence that the local suggestions are being taken seriously by the consultant, QST Infrastructure Inc.

Local officials get another chance to explain their suggestions Tuesday. The Missouri Department of Transportation is holding an informational meeting for elected officials at 5 p.m. at the Jackson Chamber of Commerce.

"I think they are working with aerial photos, which are at least five years old," said associate commissioner Max Stovall. "Can you believe they drew a line where a school is being built?"

The Missouri Department of Transportation is looking at constructing a Highway 34/72 bypass to ease traffic congestion between Jackson and the new Highway 74-Interstate 55 interchange in Cape Girardeau.

The state also is considering improving old Highway 74 from its intersection with Highway 25 at Dutchtown to Cape Girardeau.

The state highway department has proposed five possible Highway 72/34 bypass routes that would take some of the traffic off a heavily congested stretch of Highway 61 in Jackson.

But two of the routes would proceed south from Jackson along Highway 25 and east along Route K to Cape Girardeau. The others would tie back into Highway 61 west of I-55.

Cape Girardeau city officials don't like the idea of funneling more traffic onto Route K.

"It is obvious to me there hasn't been anybody walk out and look at this road," Spradling said. "I don't know if they have looked at the topography. It doesn't look like the engineers from St. Louis have made any effort to take our recommendations into consideration."

The consultants and MODoT officials met with Jackson city officials to discuss Jackson's specific concerns.

"We expressed our displeasure with some of the options," said City Manager Steve Wilson.

In particular, Wilson said, the route through Jackson needs to be carefully plotted so the road won't put up a physical barrier to potential annexation in the future.

Wilson said the proposals are not cast in stone, and he expects the final route will meet the needs of the local area.

"I think the lines they drew on the map were for illustrative purposes," Wilson said. "It shows a line through the elementary school, but I can't imagine that being the logical option.

"I think we will end up with something very logical," Wilson said. "They are not familiar with the area, and we asked them to explore another corridor."