Transportation projects approach latest approval process

If you've ever steered your car through the Lexington Avenue roundabout or stopped for pedestrians at the traffic light at Broadway and Henderson Avenue, then you're one of many to make use of a Transportation Trust Fund 4 project.

The two are among a dozen projects, plus a few general street and sidewalk improvement activities, recommended by the Planning and Zoning Commission on Dec. 9, 2009, and approved by the Cape Girardeau City Council on Feb. 16, 2010.

The city began asking voters to approve the half-cent sales tax for transportation projects beginning in 1995. Voters have renewed the "pay-as-you-go" scenario three times since.

The last renewal was in August 2010, and another is fast approaching in 2015. A council-appointed subcommittee tasked with assessing and prioritizing a list of possible projects is expected to present its suggestions to the city council in January.

Progress

City engineer Casey Brunke said nearly half the TTF 4 projects have been completed, with about five more in the design phase or getting ready to bid. The completed projects include the Lexington and Route W roundabout and the Broadway/Henderson traffic light, the costs of which were shared among the city, the Missouri Department of Transportation and Southeast Missouri State University, respectively. Also on the list of completed projects are Broadway improvements and William/Aquamsi/Main Street intersection improvements, including design costs for the William Street corridor from Main Street to Kingshighway.

The project called only for designs to improve William Street, but the city decided not to move forward beyond the design stage after receiving a less than enthusiastic public response. People in attendance at the public hearings held last December to review the matter expressed concerns that possible changes could impede the flow of traffic in the area. After receiving input from the public, Brunke said the council decided not to move forward with a plan -- other than the improvements at the Main and Aquamsi intersection -- but the city has some design ideas for the corridor "in our back pocket" should they be needed in the future.

A few of the coming projects focus on West End Boulevard improvements. Street widening and work on curbs, gutters and sidewalks is planned for the stretch between Rose and New Madrid streets. Another project will extend Walnut Street from Beaudean Lane to West End Boulevard and improve the section of the road from Jefferson Avenue to Linden Street. That work is expected to go out to bid soon, Brunke said.

Progress continues to be made on the section of Veterans Memorial Drive from Scenic Drive to Hopper Road. Brunke said the city is negotiating with property owners to acquire necessary right of way. Barring any acquisition issues, she said construction could begin next spring or summer.

Another project that's seen some progress this year focuses on improving the Independence Street and Gordonville Road intersection. In October, the council approved an agreement with Koehler Engineering and Land Surveying to conduct a traffic study at the intersection, which regularly sees significant congestion. Funds for the $8,739 study were made available by the Federal Highway Administration through its Surface Transportation Program, coordinated through the Missouri Department of Transportation. It requires a 20 percent match from the city that will come from TTF 4 funds.

"Because we were able to use some of our STP urban funding administered through MoDOT, we were able to leverage our TTF dollars a little further, which is great," Brunke said.

She said the city hopes to see the results from the traffic study this month and construction could begin around spring or summer of next year. The study will determine the best way to handle the heavy traffic. Brunke said the suggestion likely will be a traffic light, but the possibility of a roundabout is being analyzed as well.

TTF 5

The subcommittee responsible for prioritizing a list of projects for the next TTF installment is working with stakeholders and preparing final numbers to present to the council. Molly Hood, assistant city manager and director of development services, said because the subcommittee has not finalized all of the details, the project list is not ready for public release. It will be available to the public after the January presentation to the council, however, and will be subject to public review before the final list is made available to voters in August.

The list will feature eight or nine specific projects along with a few general projects, such as asphalt overlay and concrete repair. The subcommittee also provides a list of alternate projects. Hood said these projects either can be substituted by the council for one on the prioritized list, completed with remaining funds after construction of the initial projects, or provide a starting point should the city pursue a 6th TTF installment.

Once the list is presented, the council can accept the list as is, adjust the priorities of different projects or ask the subcommittee to reconsider project descriptions or cost estimates.

The projects are based on suggestions from the public, the council members and business and transportation officials. Hood said the projects are prioritized using a scoring tool. Some of the criteria used by the subcommittee included safety, economic development and populations served by the improvements.

Budget also comes into play. The subcommittee worked with an estimated $20 million budget for the five-year period, although revenue generated by the tax has reached or slightly exceeded $21 million in the past. The plan also includes $2 million in contingency funding for any unforeseen costs.

When the project list is made public, Hood said people may notice a slight difference compared to past TTF project lists.

"This year, the council's direction to the subcommittee was they needed to shift their focus a little bit from new roads to taking care of the existing system that we have," she said. " ... Most of the projects that will be recommended to council are reconstructing streets we have now, upgrading them, replacing bridges, things like that. It is a little different this go 'round than it has been in the past. You won't see as many new streets as you've seen in previous TTFs."

The presentation of the new project list to the council also will include a map of all completed or planned TTF projects.

On the map "you can see the distribution of the projects has really touched every corner of the city," Hood said.

Brunke also said the map is an easy way to see how much work has been done through the tax.

"It's amazing to see what we've done [with TTF funds]," she said. "We're talking about almost $80 million worth of projects we've been able to do over the past 20 years ... and when you look at the map, most people don't even realize that was a TTF project. But it's amazing to see what we've been able to do in all this time with the TTF."

srinehart@semissourian.com

388-3641

Pertinent address:

Cape Girardeau, Mo.