HIGHWAY DATA WILL HELP COUNTY CHOICE ON I-55 INTERCHANGE

When it comes to highways, very few decisions about location, construction or improvements can be made in isolation. While communities throughout Missouri want and expect the best possible highways services, costly projects must vie for limited funds.

The state's taxpayers got a jolt a few months ago when the Missouri Highways and Transportation Department conceded that its projections for income from special taxes to pay for highways was way off the mark. As a result, the 15-year road program that has been a staple of highway planning has been scaled back to three years, and many projects promised when voters went to the polls have been put off indefinitely.

There is another important component of highway planning: federal funding. Washington contributes a major share of the money spent by states on highways, which means there are plenty of strings attached.

One of those strings has to do with designated projects. Once projects are identified under a portion of the federal funding, no new projects can be added. But projects can be substituted, which means the original projects are taken off the funding list. Another string is the requirement for community input on local projects.

That is part of what has led to a request from the state highway commission for input from the Cape Girardeau County Commission on where to put an interchange on I-55. Both Oak Ridge and Jackson would like new interchanges, but it isn't likely both could be accommodated under current funding. Moreover, without community support for one interchange or the other, it is possible neither one would be left on the state's plans for design and eventual construction.

The county commission is on record in support of both proposed I-55 interchanges. The Jackson connection would tie into the planned extension of East Main Street, which is expected in the next few years. The Oak Ridge interchange would provide interstate access at Route E.

The request from the state highway commission has put the county commission in something of a dilemma. On the one hand, it wants to continue its support for both plans. And, at the same time, it doesn't want to jeopardize either of the projects by not responding to the highway commission's request.

Wisely, the county commission is proceeding cautiously. While the commissioners are perfectly willing to make a nuts-and-bolts decision, they certainly don't want to do so in a vacuum. At a meeting this week, the commissioner said they lack hard data about the proposed interchanges, and they were told the highway commission is very near to contracting for a study of highway needs in Cape Girardeau County.

Commissioners generally agree they will tell the highway commission the county's priorities for the two interchanges, but only after they have collected information on traffic counts, area of service and other factors. This data will be collected quickly and inexpensively -- far more quickly at a fraction of the cost of the planned state study. Information, of course, will tell commissioners and Cape Girardeau County residents about the need for either of the interchanges.

Just as crucial, particularly to taxpayers, is information about other highway needs in the county and throughout Southeast Missouri. For example, many motorists would contend safety improvements at the U.S. 61-Highway 34 interchange between Cape Girardeau and Jackson are sorely needed before any more interchanges are built.

And, as the county commissioners observed, if they are going to get into the business of providing input on highway projects, they would rather be consulted on all of them, not just the two proposed interchanges.