MODOT RESPONDS TO LOCAL HIGHWAY VIEWS

Regardless of the route ultimately chosen to better move traffic through or around Jackson toward Cape Girardeau, the Missouri Department of Transportation deserves credit for promptly responding to concerns of local government officials and coming up with an alternative that not only addresses those concerns but satisfies those who expressed them.

Last week MoDOT presented officials of Jackson, Cape Girardeau and Cape Girardeau County with a plan that would involve construction of a new highway from near the Highway 34-72 intersection west of Jackson southeasterly across Route PP to Highway 25 south of Jackson. From there it would follow Highway 25 to Route K near Gordonville, head easterly along Route K and tie in with the new Highway 74 interchange with Interstate 55 at Cape Girardeau.

A consultant had come up with other possible corridors to help alleviate congestion along Highway 34 from east of Jackson to the interstate. All but one involved highway improvements either along Highway 34 through Jackson or construction of a southerly bypass of Jackson, tying back in with Highway 34 on Jackson's east side.

The one proposal that would get traffic off of Highway 34 east of Jackson and the interchange between the two cities -- the corridor favored most by local officials -- posed problems for them. On Jackson's end, it would encroach upon clay resources of Kasten Clay Products Co. and impact Grandview Acres subdivision along Highway 25. On the Cape Girardeau side, it would have funneled even more traffic into the already overburdened Route K-I-55 interchange.

To satisfy those concerns, the consultant moved a stretch of the highway corridor south of Grandview Acres at Jackson and rerouted it away from the Route K-I-55 interchange at Cape Girardeau, tying it in with the new Highway 74 interchange. The new corridors would better promote economic development in both cities, which local officials hope it will do.

Because of heavy traffic, revisions are needed at both the Highway 34 and Route K interchanges with the interstate. Redirecting traffic from a future Jackson bypass to Highway 34 and into I-55 or funneling more traffic into the Route K-I-55 interchange would worsen problems at those interchanges despite MoDOT's intentions of making future improvements at both interchanges.

Highway 34 planning is only in the preliminary phase, and part of that phase is getting public reaction to possible routes. MoDOT presented the possibilities, listened to the concerns and responded with an alternative that all three local governments are pleased with. That is how highway planning should work.