US 34 bridge between Glenwood, IA and Bellevue, NE to open Wednesday

[DandyDan]

I'm not sure why they are saying "Glenwood to Plattsmouth", because it actually goes towards Bellevue (and I suppose eventually, Bellevue will go to the bridge), but the new US 34 bridge over the Missouri River is due to open Wednesday at 3pm.

http://www.wowt.com/home/headlines/Bridge-From-Glenwood-To-Plattsmouth-Opening-Soon-278568201.html

Also, I made a trip to Glenwood today just to see what's new, although it probably wasn't a good idea.  (Don't plan anything after getting the flu shot!)  There's a new ramp sign, there's a mile marker 5AH (what in the world does that mean?) and the Glenwood exit is now Exit 8 on US 34.  Also, IA 370, in its dying days, has been repaved, many years too late, AFAIAC.

[NE2]

there's a mile marker 5AH (what in the world does that mean?)

5 ahead in a milepost equation?

[Jardine]

I've been waiting for that bridge quite a while.  Seems like it has been under construction for a very long time.

(I realize the flood of 2011 did not help the schedule)

[Revive 755]

I'm not sure why they are saying "Glenwood to Plattsmouth", because it actually goes towards Bellevue (and I suppose eventually, Bellevue will go to the bridge), but the new US 34 bridge over the Missouri River is due to open Wednesday at 3pm.

http://www.wowt.com/home/headlines/Bridge-From-Glenwood-To-Plattsmouth-Opening-Soon-278568201.html

Also, I made a trip to Glenwood today just to see what's new, although it probably wasn't a good idea.  (Don't plan anything after getting the flu shot!)  There's a new ramp sign, there's a mile marker 5AH (what in the world does that mean?) and the Glenwood exit is now Exit 8 on US 34.  Also, IA 370, in its dying days, has been repaved, many years too late, AFAIAC.

5AH means "5 Ahead," indicated that the mile around 5 has been shorten IIRC.  This allows Iowa to avoid renumbering all of the milemarkers on US 34 across the state.

[brad2971]

I'm not sure why they are saying "Glenwood to Plattsmouth", because it actually goes towards Bellevue (and I suppose eventually, Bellevue will go to the bridge), but the new US 34 bridge over the Missouri River is due to open Wednesday at 3pm.

http://www.wowt.com/home/headlines/Bridge-From-Glenwood-To-Plattsmouth-Opening-Soon-278568201.html

Also, I made a trip to Glenwood today just to see what's new, although it probably wasn't a good idea.  (Don't plan anything after getting the flu shot!)  There's a new ramp sign, there's a mile marker 5AH (what in the world does that mean?) and the Glenwood exit is now Exit 8 on US 34.  Also, IA 370, in its dying days, has been repaved, many years too late, AFAIAC.

Just out of curiosity, has NDOR started the Platteview Rd/US34 interchange at US75 yet? From Google Earth, it looks as though the ramps for the interchange are mostly finished, but as of May 2014 in StreetView, the overpass itself hasn't even been started.

[DandyDan]

I'm not sure why they are saying "Glenwood to Plattsmouth", because it actually goes towards Bellevue (and I suppose eventually, Bellevue will go to the bridge), but the new US 34 bridge over the Missouri River is due to open Wednesday at 3pm.

http://www.wowt.com/home/headlines/Bridge-From-Glenwood-To-Plattsmouth-Opening-Soon-278568201.html

Also, I made a trip to Glenwood today just to see what's new, although it probably wasn't a good idea.  (Don't plan anything after getting the flu shot!)  There's a new ramp sign, there's a mile marker 5AH (what in the world does that mean?) and the Glenwood exit is now Exit 8 on US 34.  Also, IA 370, in its dying days, has been repaved, many years too late, AFAIAC.

Just out of curiosity, has NDOR started the Platteview Rd/US34 interchange at US75 yet? From Google Earth, it looks as though the ramps for the interchange are mostly finished, but as of May 2014 in StreetView, the overpass itself hasn't even been started.

The southbound ramps are done and part of the northbound entrance ramp is done and that's essentially it.

[usends]

I'm not suggesting this bridge won't benefit area drivers, but I do question the decision to apply the US 34 designation to it.  It seems to me this bridge will not benefit US 34 traffic.

• Original 34 went southwest from Glenwood on what is now CR L35.  To get to US 75 in Plattsmouth, according to Google, that routing is 10.6 miles, and 17 minutes.
• Later they rerouted US 34 traffic more westerly from Glenwood to an I-29 interchange, then south, back to the original alignment.  To get to the same point in Plattsmouth, that route added over 3 miles, and another 2 minutes of drive time.
• Now with this new bridge, to get to the same point in Plattsmouth will require an extra 6 miles (don't know the estimated drivetime, since Google doesn't yet have the road data).

I guess another way to think about it is: if you're going to take US 34 traffic that far north, then does it make sense to continue routing US 34 traffic back south through Plattsmouth?  Once you're that far north, it seems to me the quickest route to Lincoln is now going to be simply continuing west on Platteview Road to I-80.

[DandyDan]

I'm not suggesting this bridge won't benefit area drivers, but I do question the decision to apply the US 34 designation to it.  It seems to me this bridge will not benefit US 34 traffic.

• Original 34 went southwest from Glenwood on what is now CR L35.  To get to US 75 in Plattsmouth, according to Google, that routing is 10.6 miles, and 17 minutes.
• Later they rerouted US 34 traffic more westerly from Glenwood to an I-29 interchange, then south, back to the original alignment.  To get to the same point in Plattsmouth, that route added over 3 miles, and another 2 minutes of drive time.
• Now with this new bridge, to get to the same point in Plattsmouth will require an extra 6 miles (don't know the estimated drivetime, since Google doesn't yet have the road data).

I guess another way to think about it is: if you're going to take US 34 traffic that far north, then does it make sense to continue routing US 34 traffic back south through Plattsmouth?  Once you're that far north, it seems to me the quickest route to Lincoln is now going to be simply continuing west on Platteview Road to I-80.

People who live along or close to Platteview Road, including the city of Springfield, are very worried about that.  Considering they want to reroute Platteview Road to connect to the new US 34 bridge at some future point, they have a point.  One other thing about this bridge is that in the late 1990's, they considered an extended I-480 which would have been essentially US 75 south to what will now be US 34, but that didn't pass in Congress

I believe at some point in the fairly recent past, they considered a new bridge for Plattsmouth, which would have connected to the east-west segment of US 34 that's on the SW corner of Plattsmouth, but then the city of Plattsmouth bought the toll bridge and basically reconstructed it.  Then again, the terrain there would make a new bridge, which would be south of the current one, difficult, not to mention all the land that would have to be bought.

As for the US 34 designation, I don't think anyone really cares whether it's US 34, NE 34, or Lost Farmers Highway.  I'm just glad if I want to go to KC, I don't have to either pay a toll at a toll bridge or drive down to Nebraska City (which was a challenge this summer).  It's probably more proof the US highway system needs to be entirely rethought out.

[Revive 755]

People who live along or close to Platteview Road, including the city of Springfield, are very worried about that.  Considering they want to reroute Platteview Road to connect to the new US 34 bridge at some future point, they have a point.

How serious of project is the Platteview Road reroute?  In the long-term future there had been talk about using the bridge for part of a new outer loop of Omaha.

Also, would it be that much in time savings to take I-29 south to the new bridge, then west on Platteview Road versus taking I-80 though Omaha, especially outside of rush hour?

[bugo]

Is the old toll truss bridge going to be removed? I'm glad I got to cross it when I did.

[DandyDan]

People who live along or close to Platteview Road, including the city of Springfield, are very worried about that.  Considering they want to reroute Platteview Road to connect to the new US 34 bridge at some future point, they have a point.

How serious of project is the Platteview Road reroute?  In the long-term future there had been talk about using the bridge for part of a new outer loop of Omaha.

Also, would it be that much in time savings to take I-29 south to the new bridge, then west on Platteview Road versus taking I-80 though Omaha, especially outside of rush hour?

I have no idea how long they will take to reroute Platteview Road, but it's reasonable to assume it will happen at some point.

I don't think anyone would go south on I-29, then west on US 34, then west on Platteview, as that's a much longer trip, plus the speed limit is only 55 at best on it.   There's a curvy area where its 45 west of 36th St, plus it's 35 on the north edge of Springfield.   There is, however, whatever US 34 traffic there is, but I have no idea how many people find themselves in Glenwood, Iowa and want to go to Lincoln, Nebraska.

[Lyon Wonder]

IMO, NE-66 can be extended onto US 34's now-former alignment through Plattsmouth to the Iowa state line on the old toll bridge.

[DandyDan]

IMO, NE-66 can be extended onto US 34's now-former alignment through Plattsmouth to the Iowa state line on the old toll bridge.

FWIW, in Plattsmouth, the signs there point the way to NE 66 without using a "TO" banner, so I wonder if that is what was supposed to happen after US 34 got rerouted.

[bugo]

Is N 6th Street, Avenue A, Washington Avenue, and Webster Blvd old US 75? Is it still a state highway? I was through there in 2001 and I seem to remember there being TO US 75 signs marked along that route so we didn't have to backtrack on US 34 to get back to US 75 (I hadn't researched the route, we just took a roadtrip on a whim and ended up there and this was way before smartphones were ubiquitous.

[Alex]

New bridge gives Nebraska drivers another link to I-29

Officials will dedicate a new $61 million bridge over the Missouri River north of Plattsmouth on Wednesday.

The 3,276-foot-long, four-lane bridge, a joint project between the Iowa Department of Transportation and the Nebraska Department of Roads, took years of study and nearly three years to build.

The concrete and steel span is part of a newly relocated section of U.S. 34 that runs from U.S. 75 just south of Offutt Air Force Base to Interstate 29 near Glenwood, Iowa.

Its opening means drivers have an alternative to the winding route that required paying a toll at Plattsmouth.

In 2007, the city of Plattsmouth bought the toll bridge for $1 from the Plattsmouth Bridge Co. and created a commission to operate and maintain it. Built in 1929, the 402-foot-long, cantilevered truss bridge cost about $700,000.

The new bridge obviously will reduce toll revenues, Portis said, but it will also reduce wear and tear on the Plattsmouth bridge, which was refurbished in 2008.

The new route consists of approximately 7 miles of four-lane divided highway with bridge approaches on both sides of the Missouri. Officials say the project provides easy access across the river and supports future economic development between the states.

In all the project cost $115 million, including approaches and a new interchange on the Nebraska side of the river, according to the Nebraska Department of Roads. Eighty percent was paid with federal money, with Nebraska and Iowa each picking up 10 percent.

Nebraska spent $21 million on the new U.S. 75/34 intersection, $16 million for its bridge approach and $24 million on the new bridge, said Roads Department spokeswoman Mary Jo Oie.

[yakra]

Is N 6th Street, Avenue A, Washington Avenue, and Webster Blvd old US 75? Is it still a state highway?

Yes, old 73/75. Shown as such on 1968 Topos; you can see it on HistoricAerials.
No, no longer state road AFAIK.

[DandyDan]

Is N 6th Street, Avenue A, Washington Avenue, and Webster Blvd old US 75? Is it still a state highway?

Yes, old 73/75. Shown as such on 1968 Topos; you can see it on HistoricAerials.
No, no longer state road AFAIK.

That has long since stopped being a state highway.  It should also be noted that 73/75 followed Chicago Avenue south up to where that road intersects the current US 75.  I seem to remember seeing a map once which shows all of Chicago Avenue being US 34, which may account for that weird divided highway section south of Plattsmouth, since that's the part of US 75 they intersect.

[bugo]

Was Lincoln Avenue from Chicago Avenue north to S 3rd Street once a part of US 34/73/75?

[yakra]

All I can come up with is that Lincoln gets the red line on the 1940 topo (Chicago Ave already exists), and Chicago gets the red line on the 1950 topo. Hardly definitive.

DandyDan: Anything that's a state road will be a numbered highway, or connecting link or spur, right? (I shoulda been more definitive in my response ^_^; )

[DandyDan]

DandyDan: Anything that's a state road will be a numbered highway, or connecting link or spur, right? (I shoulda been more definitive in my response ^_^; )

I went driving over all 3 bridges (don't forget the one that already existed in Bellevue) the last two days and as near as I can tell, old US 34 is just city streets now in Plattsmouth.  There are several "TO" banners that didn't previously exist, but in Nebraska, they have a tendency to forget "TO" banners, so sometimes, they have highways that aren't actually there signed as if they are.

US 34 does appear to have been removed from the old route west of I-29, but on 29 itself, the signage still has US 34 on it.  They have these Clearview signs on old 34 now that they just made a couple years ago that they are going to have to redo, or remove.  One unrelated note I find odd about the old US 34 interchange is that if you go east from there (on old-old US 34), you are on county L35 and I find that odd because it's either an east-west road or a diagonal, which means it should be county H-x or H-x-L.  Granted, the road L35 is on goes through Glenwood and comes out the other side of Glenwood as L35 (this is old US 275), but there is no real connection between the two parts other than you don't turn at all to go from one to the other.

As for Bellevue, it appears NE 370 fades out east of US 75 (some signs still exist on gantries, and Fort Crook Road (old 73-75) still has signage directing you to NE 370), and appears gone by the time Harlan Drive reaches Galvin Road.  OTOH, signage for Iowa 370 still exists.

I do wonder if it's all just a matter of time, though.

I'm not suggesting this bridge won't benefit area drivers, but I do question the decision to apply the US 34 designation to it.  It seems to me this bridge will not benefit US 34 traffic.

• Original 34 went southwest from Glenwood on what is now CR L35.  To get to US 75 in Plattsmouth, according to Google, that routing is 10.6 miles, and 17 minutes.
• Later they rerouted US 34 traffic more westerly from Glenwood to an I-29 interchange, then south, back to the original alignment.  To get to the same point in Plattsmouth, that route added over 3 miles, and another 2 minutes of drive time.
• Now with this new bridge, to get to the same point in Plattsmouth will require an extra 6 miles (don't know the estimated drivetime, since Google doesn't yet have the road data).

I guess another way to think about it is: if you're going to take US 34 traffic that far north, then does it make sense to continue routing US 34 traffic back south through Plattsmouth?  Once you're that far north, it seems to me the quickest route to Lincoln is now going to be simply continuing west on Platteview Road to I-80.

One possible other solution could have been to make it US 275.  US 275 could hypothetically go north on US 75 to L St after crossing the new bridge.  It does lose its historic connection to Council Bluffs if you do that, though.  I would personally redo US 275 to go straight down Dodge with US 6 in Omaha.  Not that anyone in Omaha would care about that.

[Lyon Wonder]

Bridgehunters says the old Plattsmouth toll bridge is closed and will be demolished?

http://bridgehunter.com/ne/cass/plattsmouth/

[NE2]

Bridgehunters says the old Plattsmouth toll bridge is closed and will be demolished?

http://bridgehunter.com/ne/cass/plattsmouth/

Doubtful.

http://fremonttribune.com/cass-news/news/plattsmouth-officials-attend-bridge-opening-ceremony/article_d197995e-89f6-599b-bed9-981bde475df1.html

Its opening gave drivers have an alternative to the winding route that required paying a toll at Plattsmouth.

"It will impact the toll bridge. The exact extent is still an educated guess at this point," Plattsmouth City Administrator Erv Portis.

In 2007, the city of Plattsmouth bought the toll bridge for $1 from the Plattsmouth Bridge Co. and created a commission to operate and maintain it.


He thinks semi drivers and farmers hauling grain will use the new U.S. 34 route to avoid stop-and-go traffic through Plattsmouth and save fuel, and that many Plattsmouth and Glenwood, Iowa, residents will still use the old toll bridge because it's an easy way to cross the Missouri River and saves them several miles.

[DandyDan]

Bridgehunters says the old Plattsmouth toll bridge is closed and will be demolished?

http://bridgehunter.com/ne/cass/plattsmouth/

It was closed for rehab work in 2008, where, amongst other things, they put some new lights on the bridge.  I have a hard time seeing them close the Plattsmouth Bridge because there apparently is some Glenwood-Plattsmouth traffic that uses it and that is the more direct route than the current US 34.  Also, people in Plattsmouth who want to hop on the interstate to go south on I-29 probably prefer taking the toll bridge over going south to Nebraska City on US 75.

I suspect the Bellevue toll bridge has a much dimmer prospect for long term survival, unless the employees at the strip club and porn shop at the 370 exit on I-29 all come from Bellevue.  I suspect since the new bridge opened, Harlan Clark Road, the road that's at the first intersection west of the bridge, which turns into Hancock Street as it heads towards downtown Bellevue, has gotten a lot busier.

[bugo]

Bridgehunters says the old Plattsmouth toll bridge is closed and will be demolished?

http://bridgehunter.com/ne/cass/plattsmouth/

Information has been corrected.

[bugo]

Did US 34-275 originally follow IA 949 to Locust where US 275 split off to the north? Did 34 follow Sharp Street to Hillman Road to 220th to L35/Kane Avenue to ??? Was 34 relocated onto Locust Street and 221st to the bridge?