Work on next phase of Old Orchard Road project to start in July

City officials in Jackson said work will begin by late July on Phase III of the South Old Orchard Road Improvement Project, which when finished will serve as a new north-south route along Interstate 55 with potential to draw in future commercial and industrial business.

If built according to schedule, the new section of Old Orchard Road from Bainbridge Road to East Main Street will be completed before Oct. 31, said Rodney Bollinger, Jackson's public works director.

Although named Phase III, the section of the new road to be built will actually be the fourth of five phases the project must go through. The fully completed Old Orchard Road extension will stretch along I-55 from East Main Street south to Old Cape Road.

Phase III, Bollinger said, is important because there will be an anchor when there are signals on the road near each interstate exit. Since much of the area around the road is already zoned for industrial and commercial use, Bollinger said he hopes the project will be a catalyst for growth along the road.

"It serves a needed north and south corridor between two busy roadways, and it is high visibility, where prospective builders and developers can develop some commercial business," Bollinger said. "It should be prime real estate there."

There are currently no formal interests in terms of developers submitting plans or zoning requests, but Bollinger said the city does get calls often from people interested in the status of the road construction and the zoning of the area.

Bollinger said he thinks once the road is finished the city will see some serious interest.

Jackson Mayor Barbara Lohr said the project will also address complaints that there are not enough through streets in the city.

"We do make a lot of twists and turns to get through town and we do need to have more direct routes," Lohr said.

The route will divert most traffic away from residential areas on and near Bainbridge Road, but no detours should be expected, the mayor said.

The road will be concrete, three lanes wide with lanes going north and south and a turning lane separating them.

According to Bollinger, the final phase of the project should be started sometime in 2012.

Throughout the phases of the project, Bollinger said, improvement to existing roads and construction of new sections have been paid for by a variety of sources, including $1.2 million of leftover funds given to the cities of Cape Girardeau and Jackson from the Federal Highway Commission's funding for the new I-55 interchange project, the local transportation sales tax fund, TIF district funding, adjacent property owners and MoDOT and Jackson city cost-share agreements.

The board of aldermen will vote at its June 20 meeting to formally award the $1,527,327.71 Phase III contract to Fronabarger Concreters Inc., who were the lowest bidders on the project.

eragan@semissourian.com

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