Street plan makes sense

Drivers knew the roundabout Cape Girardeau built at the intersection of Silver Springs and Gordonville roads in 2001 was cockeyed. It might have been OK for slalom skiing but was too narrow for driving. One critic called it a "dysfunctional monstrosity." Eventually, the city did enough nipping and tucking on the intersection to satisfy most people.

Later, a public outcry killed a proposal to build a roundabout at the intersection of Sprigg Street and Normal Avenue.

So it may be understandable that some Cape Girardeans greeted a new intersection plan, this one to reconfigure the point where Silver Springs Road almost meets South Kingshighway, with some wariness.

But the plan devised with the Missouri Department of Transportation to build a signalized intersection near Central High School appears to be sound. It will untangle a maze of merging and interstate access roads never meant to carry the heavy traffic from the high school and the Career and Technology Center.

Under the plan, Silver Springs Road will be extended to South Kingshighway, and a curved road will be built linking the east side of the intersection with Old U.S. 61.

Two existing roads will be closed: the merging entrances of Old U.S. 61 and Marquette Drive that provide access to the northbound lanes of South Kingshighway, and a road that crosses South Kingshighway and connects to Interstate 55 northbound on-ramp.

Besides dramatically improving safety, especially urgent because so many students drive in the area, the project will open up property along Silver Springs Road to development.

Construction could begin this summer. MoDOT engineers do not anticipate traffic delays because of the construction. The pavement is expected to be in place by the fall.