PORT AUTHORITY MOVES TOWARD POTENTIAL

Fulfillment of the long-held promise of the Southeast Missouri Regional Port Authority continues steadily. With the completion of the eastward extension of Nash Road soon to be a reality, the dream of farsighted planners of a generation ago is beginning to come true. Recent news from the port has been consistently upbeat.

Nash Road is being paved and should be completed from its current terminus east of Interstate 55 all the way to the port some time this fall. This will provide the direct interstate access the port has long needed to reach its full potential. Intermodal transportation opportunities are obvious, with the nearby Cape Girardeau Regional Airport, the adjacent Nash Road Industrial Park and the three rail lines passing through the port. Also nearby is an interstate pipeline crossing the river, carrying deregulated natural gas. Very few locations anywhere in the inland river system of North America can boast all these connections.

New industries are choosing to locate at the port. Latest among these is Canal Wood Corp. This company, said to be the largest supplier of wood in the Southeast, will locate its fourth plant here on 40 acres at the port. Canal Wood plans a $10 million wood chipping facility that will hire about 15 people, with another 10 to 15 to be hired throughout Southeast Missouri to buy timber for processing at the plant. These developments don't happen overnight. Port officials have been working on a wood chipping facility since 1991.

Canal Wood's decision to locate at the port was facilitated by a Community Development Block Grant of $190,000. The money will be used to improve Scott City's water system, including digging a new well. Canal Wood plans to use 70,000 gallons of water daily to maintain quality in its stored logs and minimize the danger of fire.

Port officials say there may be more developments on the horizon. It would appear that the investment of citizens in Cape Girardeau and Scott counties, and of the federal and state governments, is really beginning to pay off.