Bridge work

The Cape Girardeau County Commission has drawn the cooperation of outside entities on a number of projects over the past several years. For example, the county jail would not have been built without the cooperation of federal officials regarding inmates. The Route AB project to extend Nash Road west to Highway 25 will be paid for largely with state and federal funds. The county has worked with federal agencies in dealing with watershed issues. Now, for at least the second time, the county is working with the military.

The county wants to raise County Road 532 out of a creek bed near Pocahontas. That's right. A road in a creek bed. The county and the National Guard have been talking about turning the problem into a practice session for the Guard. The 1140th Engineer Battalion in Cape Girardeau would do the project, a job similar to one it did several years ago to raise County Road 525 at Neely's Landing.

Some would argue that this type of arrangement, called "innovative readiness training" by the Guard, is taking jobs away from the local work force. But if the 1140th needs the training, and if this project needs to be done, then this cooperation is a two-sided benefit to taxpayers.