TRY AGAIN ON INTERSECTION

High bids will apparently delay the street improvements at the New Madrid-Henderson intersection for a year. The intersection is on the edge of the Southeast Missouri State University campus next to the new business building nearing completion. Both bids for the project were well over the estimated costs. These bids could send the project back to the drawing board.

But maybe that isn't such a bad thing. The delay may give the university and the city time for a second look at the intersection design.

On Monday, the city council rescinded its approval of the plan and sent it back to the Planning and Zoning Commission for further study. Councilmen indicated it was more of a procedural move and doesn't necessarily mean it will bring a change in design.

But why not? Several of the neighbors have expressed concerns about the intersection design and have worried it would actually make the traffic flow more confusing. P&Z members indicated they had not seen the final plans.

The council might consider the addition of traffic lights to improve the intersection traffic flow. It is a confusing intersection that will be made all the more so with the opening of the new $15.5 million College of Business building.

Tearing up the intersection this fall would create a major traffic problem, particularly during basketball games and other events at the Show Me Center. Already, nearly 5,000 cars travel through that intersection each day when the university is in session.

An additional year may give more time for analysis of the intersection, and perhaps allow for a better design that suits all parties.