GROUND BROKEN FOR BRIDGE

Friday was a day of celebration in Cape Girardeau, and rightfully so: Ground was broken for a new bridge across the Mississippi River. Construction won't get under way until September, but you can bet that September is as close as tomorrow to the more than 200 people who gathered for the event and have waited for years to see the bridge become reality.

It wasn't until this year that everything fell in place, including the release of federal and state money for the $90 million span. There long had been talk about a new bridge to replace the two-lane structure that has served the region well for more than seven decades, but not until this decade did the wheels really begin turning.

Federal and state officials from Missouri and Illinois were on hand for Friday's ceremony, which marked the starting point of four years of construction that will end with a four-lane bridge for easy access between both states.