NATION CONTINUES TO GRAPPLE WITH DEATH PENALTY: ROADS IN CAPE GET BETTER

Three important road projects in the Cape Girardeau area are progressing thanks to the cooperative efforts of local and state officials.

The next segment of Cape Girardeau's Lexington Avenue arterial, which will extend that route east from Cape Rock Drive to an extension of Sprigg Street, is slated to begin this summer. City officials have secured the necessary right of way for the route, and the final segment of the street to Highway 177 will begin next spring. The new section east of Cape Rock should open vast tracts of land for development in the northeast part of the city.

The Nash Road extension, from Interstate 55 to the Southeast Missouri Regional Port Authority apparently will become a reality by 1997, with grading expected to begin late this fall. The extension is a dream realized through the hard work of port and industrial development officials, area elected officials and the Missouri Highway and Transportation Department.

The new road not only will better serve the Nash Road industrial tract, but will provide swift access to the port. For 20 years, the port facility has grown. The Nash Road extension will foster even greater growth. The new route also will provide needed relief for Scott City streets now congested with truck traffic to and from the port.

Finally, Lone Star Industries, Kasten Block, Consolidated Grain and Barge and the city of Cape all will benefit from a $425,750 federal Economic Development Administration grant for flood recovery work in south Cape.

The project will involve elevating Sprigg Street from old Highway 74 to the Cape LaCroix Bridge. The construction will ensure access to the city's sewer treatment plant and Lone Star's cement plant on South Sprigg Street during flooding. Kasten block and Consolidate Grain also will be able to move materials during high water. Helping these businesses, crippled during last year's flood, helps the entire region's economy.