LETTER: IMPERATIVE TO HAVE GOOD ROADS TO ACCOMPLISH PROGRESS

To the editor:

I feel that the I-66 corridor would be one of the biggest economic boosts this area ever experienced. I have a problem with the fact that the Southeast Missourian cannot support this project.

I may not see this highway in my lifetime, but I certainly give thanks to the people who brought I-55 through our area. I-55 seems to be in good shape, as the volume of traffic is probably about what the road was built to handle. Apparently this cannot be said for I-70 or I-40, as these two are certainly showing the worse for wear. Just recently complete lanes on I-70 in central Missouri had to be replaced, as there is a lot more traffic on these roads than they were intended to handle.

One can see the economic development along the present interstate roads, so I feel sure the same would be true if I-66 would become a reality. Just look at I-55. Perryville and Cape Girardeau have seen growth, and I feel sure an east-west route would be that much more feasible. It is just imperative to have good roads to accomplish any kind of progress. Our country needs another east-west road, so it is my hope you will lend your support to the I-66 corridor.

VIRGIL ELFRINK

Cape Girardeau

Editors note: The Southeast Missourian has supported in the past and continues to support the development of east-west highways that would give Cape Girardeau better access to Paducah to the east and Springfield and Jefferson City to the west. However, putting all of the east-west highway eggs into the I-66 basket ignores the reality that the highway departments in Missouri and Illinois have other priorities, many of them mandated by federal funding and the need to maintain existing highways. A new bridge across the Mississippi River is the first highway priority for Cape Girardeau, and Missouris highway commission plans to improve Highway 34 west to near Van Buren, where it would connect with U.S. 60, which is being upgraded to a four-lane highway from Springfield to Sikeston. While the concept of a new interstate highway beginning on the East Coast (the I-66 concept) possibly makes economic sense as far west as Springfield or Wichita, there is a problem getting across Southern Illinois, mainly because of the Shawnee National Forest. A new feasibility study, to be conducted by Kentuckys highway department, will take a look at the scaled-down concept (from the East Coast to the Midwest) for the proposed interstate, but there is no indication and certainly no guarantee this study will even consider the impact on Illinois or Missouri. Claims that I-66 could be completed within the next 10 to 15 years unsubstantiated claims being made by spokespersons for the project that are being published and broadcast by other news media are considered nonsense by elected officials and highway officials at the state and federal level. As to the reconstruction of portions of I-70 in central Missouri: This is part of the original interstate construction dating back to the 1960s. Despite growing use of I-70, the original pavement has lasted nearly three decades along some portions of the route. Without a doubt better east-west highway access would be an economic boon to Cape Girardeau, but this can be achieved without the multibillion-dollar expense of a new interstate highway across or even halfway across the country.