The impact of I-55 on Southeast Missouri

Talk to someone of a certain age and they will recall the challenges of travel in the Midwest before Interstate 55. A simple trip from Cape Girardeau to St. Louis was much longer than the 1 hour and 40 minutes that it is today. And a trek from LaPlace, Louisiana, where I-55 now begins, to Chicago, where it ends, was certainly more arduous.

Thanks to the 960-mile I-55, travel is much different today.

This summer, I-55 marked its 50th anniversary of the last concrete segment connecting Cape Girardeau to St. Louis. The full project would be finished in 1979.

A recent Southeast Missourian story recapped the history of this major transportation project, and several of Cape Girardeau’s leaders spoke about the impact of the interstate on life in Cape Girardeau. Travel around the country improved. More St. Louis students began to choose Southeast Missouri State University for higher education. And that’s just the beginning.

“That interstate makes the world smaller both from an economic and social standpoint, while still being able to enjoy all the perks of living in a city like Cape Girardeau,” Cape Girardeau Ward 4 Councilman Robbie Guard said. “I’ve always said, if you look at I-55, because of that highway you can live and have small-town atmosphere and can be an hour and 40 minutes away from anything in the world.”

Fifty years later, we’re reminded of just how this major project in middle America changed life for the better in our part of the world.