Jackson plan still has strong opposition

Nobody is denying that Jackson city officials, business owners and residents are very late in organizing opposition to a highway plan they feel is not in their best interests.

Their concern now must be whether they will find receptive ears in their fight to make the Missouri Department of Transportation widen Highway 34-72 in the manner Jackson residents, not highway officials, see fit.

In all fairness, MoDOT has been working on a plan for widening Jackson Boulevard (Highway 34-72) from Highway 25 west to the 34-72 junction for most of the last decade. Traffic counts are up on the two-lane stretch as the population of Jackson and rural Cape Girardeau County has grown far more quickly than in more urban Cape Girardeau.

About a year ago, highway engineers unveiled their proposal. It involves widening the road to four lanes with a concrete barrier down the middle. That barrier would be broken only at stoplights, which would mean some drivers would have to pass their destinations, make U-turns and go back.

That is not what many residents and business owners along the stretch and surrounding area want. More than a thousand people signed a petition to that effect. Their leader, Alderman Joe Bob Baker, concedes this effort should have begun a year ago, but only recently did people begin to understand the plan in full.

What they'd prefer is a five-lane road that includes a turn lane in the middle.

Not a good idea, MoDOT has said. Again and again, highway officials have emphasized that a limited-access highway, the kind with the barrier, reduces accidents by 25 percent.

But so far in the discussions, one vital set of statistics seems to be missing: How many accidents have occurred on this particular stretch over the past several years. How serious were they. And how willing are Jacksonians to take their chances?

What happened with such a highway in Iowa, the subject of a video shown to opponents, may or may not have a valid connection with what could happen in Jackson.

It could be that divided highways are the current trend for transportation departments across the nation.

Following a trend would seem to be one explanation why Cape Girardeau got its ill-fated roundabout at Gordonville and Silver Springs roads instead of a four-way stop. The roundabout had to be reconstructed just so traffic could get around it.

At this point in the progress of the Highway 34-72 project, it is highly unlikely that a grassroots effort out of Jackson is going to make much difference unless participants get the attention of politicians in Jefferson City. Those people, who approve the budget for MoDOT, have the agency's ear.

It's time for those with political ties to the Jackson area to listen to constituents there, examine the situation and see if the current plan is really the best solution for this fast-growing community.