Who's responsible for Harmony Lane? Good question

Is Harmony Lane on the northwest edge of Jackson a city street or a county road?

Depending on which side of the pavement you're on, it's apparently both.

Although it resembles a blacktop county road, about a mile of Harmony Lane straddles Jackson's city boundary with the city limits running down the center of the pavement.

The question of who bears responsibility for the road's maintenance -- the city or the county -- was a discussion item during Monday night's study session of the Jackson Board of Aldermen.

"Up until now, there's been a gentlemen's agreement, if you will, between the city and county public works departments as far as who does what, who does snow plowing, who patches potholes and that kind of stuff," Jackson city administrator Jim Roach said. "But going forward we're hoping to get beyond that patchwork approach to try to figure out a more comprehensive way of fixing the road and who pays for what."

Jackson city attorney Tom Ludwig has been in touch with Cape Girardeau County Commissioner Paul Koeper to develop a maintenance agreement for Harmony Lane. That agreement might also include a framework for upgrading the pavement to city standards.

"What Commissioner Koeper indicated to me was that he is interested in seeing what the condition of the road is, so he's going to order core drilling on Harmony Lane so he can determine what the base of the road is (and) what it's going to take to bring it to various standards," Ludwig reported during Monday night's study session.

"He won't know (about the road condition) for a period of time, and when he does, he will share those reports with us," Ludwig continued. "So right now, we don't know where the (Harmony Lane) plans are going."

If the city and county ultimately agree on a plan to upgrade Harmony Lane to city street specifications, it is possible additional right of way would need to be acquired along certain sections of the roadway to accommodate pavement widening. That right of way could extend up to 25 feet on either side of the pavement centerline.

"There's also a little bit of an issue with policing the speed on that road because there are pieces of it in the county and other pieces in the city," Roach said. "So that's a challenge in and of itself."

City officials said any agreement related to Harmony Lane might also serve as a template for about a dozen other streets on the edge of Jackson's city limits that overlap into the county.

Jakob Conklin, 17, left, and Lane Wilson, 16, both of Jackson, skip stones Monday on Hubble Creek next to the Hubble Ford low-water crossing bridge in Jackson City Park. Jackson city officials expect to seek bids for a new vehicle and pedestrian bridge over the creek by late July.Jay Wolz

Hubble Ford

It was just over a year ago a 5-year-old girl nearly drowned when she was swept under the low-water vehicle crossing along Hubble Creek in Jackson City Park. Since that time, Jackson city officials have been working with an engineering firm to develop plans for a better bridge over Hubble Creek they hope will be safer for vehicles and pedestrians.

At its study session Monday night, the Board of Aldermen received an update about the project from city public works director Kent Peetz. He told the aldermen the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has given its initial approval to the project "and hopefully by next week we'll receive some preliminary (bridge) plans."

Peetz said the city should be in a position to seek bids for bridge construction by the end of July and construction could be complete by the spring or summer of 2022.

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