How Interstate 55 and the floodwall have shaped Cape Girardeau

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (KBSI) – Dr. Steven Hoffman, a history professor at Southeast Missouri State, said the construction of the Mississippi River floodwall in Cape Girardeau has saved downtown from flooding on several occasions, and had the wall not been constructed, the flooding would have taken its toll. 

“Having that floodwall installed I think really allowed us to create the city that we really think of,” he said. “It would have been much harder to revitalize the downtown, and I think it would look much differently than it does today.” 

And on the opposite end of town, there is Interstate 55, which has connected Cape to cities like St. Louis since the 70s. 

“What you now have with that event is a transformation in the transportation patterns,” Hoffman said.

But as Hoffman pointed out, the interstate system and the floodwall had nearly opposite impacts on the city. 

“We have the building of the wall, which allows us to preserve our downtown, then we have the coming of the interstate, which kind of threatens our downtown’s survival,” he said.

But the increased traffic and the expansion of retail and other businesses caused by the interstate, combined with the revitalization efforts downtown which in part have been made possible by the floodwall, have resulted in the Cape Girardeau we see now. 

“They’re why Cape is what it is today,” Hoffman said.