ILLINOIS, GET ON BOARD THE CAPE BRIDGE PROJECT

Slowly but surely Cape Girardeau is moving closer to a new Mississippi River bridge. Evidence of the progress can be seen along the bridge route in South Cape Girardeau as houses and buildings have been bought and marked for demolition. Bids for razing these structures will be opened next week, with work scheduled to begin in late June or early July.

We don't blame neighbors for wishing the demolition would proceed quickly. Boarded up buildings encircled by yellow tape do resemble a crime scene. But the state has proceeded at a commendable rate considering the mountains of state and federal rules and regulations. The acquisition process is moving ahead of schedule due to neighborhood cooperation. The state has purchased more than 70 of the 132 parcels along the bridge route right of way. Missouri has also behaved responsibly as far as funding the bridge project.

The same can't be said for the state of Illinois. One of the few clouds on the horizon remains Illinois' funding. Unfortunately, this cloud has the potential of becoming a killer storm, grinding this massive project to a dead stop.

Earlier this year, Illinois signed an agreement to provide one-half the cost of the design contract. A design engineer firm has since been hired and commenced work. However, the state still has "asterisks" in its budget by the bridge, which says funding is contingent on obtaining federal monies in excess of normal allocation. It's time that Illinois takes financial responsibility for this bridge project, and makes good on this commitment to Southern Illinois.

Illinois leaders have indicated that dollars for river bridges will come only from discretionary funds. But it's unclear how much discretionary money will be available under the federal highway bill passed in late 1991.

Missouri ran into problems with Illinois during construction of the existing bridge in 1927-28. It was called the "bridge to nowhere" because it connected only to dirt roads on the Illinois side, making travel difficult. Illinois eventually put in paved roads, which led to greater usage. Illinois leaders failed to see the importance of the bridge the first time, and may be suffering from similar poor vision now.

Missouri State Highway Commissioner John Oliver of Cape Girardeau has not been pleased with Illinois' level of cooperation. Missouri finds itself in a quandary. We can't pay for the entire project, and obviously can't control what Illinois' political leaders do. Without their share not too far down the road, the project may stall. That's something we don't need. Construction of the $41.2 million bridge could commence in the fall of 1994, with work to take about five years.

Missouri is ready, willing and able to proceed with this bridge project, and has demonstrated this by allocating dollars and personnel. The project is running ahead of schedule. We don't want to put on the brakes. It's time for Illinois to get on board.