FIND AN ALTERNATIVE TO CLOSING THE BRIDGE

After the Missouri Department of Transportation announced it planned to close the bridge over the Mississippi River at Cape Girardeau for repairs later this summer, businesses and their employees began thinking about the impact. At first, it appeared that the closing would be tolerated as a trade-off for resurfacing the bridge deck. Now it appears there are good reasons to rethink the closing idea.

The plan announced by MoDOT would close the bridge from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. each night Sundays through Thursdays starting July 25. The resurfacing project is expected to last about three weeks, weather permitting.

However, MoDOT said it was working with providers of emergency services to provide access for ambulances and the like.

That got some folks to thinking: If exceptions can be made for emergency vehicles, why not other vehicles considered essential to businesses and workers who rely on the bridge during the hours of the planned closings each night?

The problem is magnified by the fact that there isn't another bridge handy to use as an alternative route. The closest crossings are at Chester, Ill., to the north and at Cairo, Ill. to the south. Either way would mean many more miles of driving and considerably more travel time.

So some business owners and managers decided to see if MoDOT would consider some alternatives. Indeed, the response was favorable, indicating a willingness to try to sort out the worst of the problems. That was certainly good news.

At least 400 workers depend of the bridge to get to and from home and work during those night hours. And some businesses, such as the Southeast Missourian, would be seriously affected by not being able to deliver products and services when the bridge is closed. For example, the Missourian has carriers who live in Illinois but deliver papers along routes in Missouri. And there are some of our carriers who take papers to Illinois. Not being permitted to cross the bridge would mean an unacceptable disruption in service.

Angie Wilson, MoDOT's public affairs manager in Southeast Missouri, has indicated a willingness to discuss the situation, given the fact that more than 20 businesses would be impaired in some way by the closing. But it was disheartening to hear Randy Hitt, project engineer from the same office, tell a group meeting in Cape Girardeau that only emergency vehicles will be allowed to cross the bridge during the resurfacing project.

Somehow, it seems like some wires have been crossed.

First, it would have been nice if MoDOT had sought community input on this situation before it announced its nighttime closing schedule.

Second, it would be nice if the MoDOT folks would coordinate among themselves, particularly after appearing so receptive to the idea of trying to work things out.

This is an important matter. Everyone wants the old bridge kept in good repair while the new bridge is being built. And while it may be convenient for crews resurfacing the bridge not to have to deal with traffic, it certainly isn't going to be convenient for hundreds of vehicles.

Surely there is some accommodation that can be made. One suggestion has been to allow traffic to cross only at a specified times, allowing bridge crews to work without passing traffic the rest of the time.

And what consideration has been given to traffic that is bound to line up on either side of the bridge if it is closed all night? Will police force those waiting vehicles to move on? What assistance will be provided to motorists who are faced with making a decision about traveling miles out of the way or staying near the bridge overnight?

Here's some advice for MoDOT: Work this out. This is not an unsolvable problem. Talk to the businesses who will be affected the most. Work together. No one is asking for the moon.

But a lot of people are depending on some ray of hope before July 25.