ANOTHER JACKSON INTERCHANGE COULD SAVE MANY LIVES

In following the recent news articles on the pending decision on where the next I-55 junction will be placed, I noticed there was no mention of what I believe to be the most important and critical reason this junction needs to be placed at the Jackson location.

I live in Cape Girardeau County on the Outer Road South where the interstate traffic ramps on and off to get into Jackson. This location is the absolute worst area in Cape Girardeau as far as accidents and deaths are concerned -- a nightmare bottleneck in rush-hour traffic in the mornings and evenings. Even crossing the road during a slow part of the day can be a death wish with the oncoming traffic.

The congestion and many exits and entrances must be very confusing to many motorists, because three times in the past 18 months I have had to pull off the road to avoid a car coming up the wrong lane toward the high-speed, oncoming traffic.

This intersection is used by many citizens from all the towns around as well as Jackson citizens working in Cape Girardeau, school buses, ambulances and fire trucks trying to get through. The traffic often is backed all the way up the ramps onto the interstate itself, which is a very dangerous situation indeed.

There are several small shrines of flowers and crosses and the side of the road placed there by families who no longer have their loved one coming home to them. I have no doubts that there will be another death there very soon.

Having lost a brother in a car accident when he was only 30 years old, these little plastic flowers by the side of the road just break my heart. Knowing that it is only a matter of time before there is another family getting that call to go down to identify the mangled body of their father, mother, brother or maybe even their child makes me take the time to write this.

Putting the interchange in Jackson will inevitably relieve some of the pressure from the rush-hour traffic. All of the millions of dollars spent on the road coming into this intersection, and particularly the brand-new, four-lane Highway 61 that was waited for and needed for so long, is rendered useless when this bottleneck swells in dangerous congestion.

Anyone who has been through this area during its busy time has to agree that this is more than a question of convenience or even the possibility of someone dying. This is a sure bet that someone in the near future will be injured, most likely seriously, and someone else will die. The statistics just aren't going away.

Jackson is growing like wild. The graduation class at Jackson High School this year was bigger than that of Cape Central High School. Jackson has been on this path for the past decade.

Citizens of Cape Girardeau and Jackson: Are you letting the Cape Girardeau County Commission know YOUR feelings on this life-and-death decision? Don't wait until it happens to someone you love. Trust me, that price is much too high to pay.

Sandra L. Ressel resides in Cape Girardeau.