Work involving the West Dodge Road project in Omaha enters the final stages… At stake is the upgrading of U.S. 6 (West Dodge Road) to a full freeway from Interstate 680 west to 132nd Street in west Omaha by replacing the surface expressway alignment with a pair of three-lane viaducts above and parallel to the original roadway.

Before construction, West Dodge Road existed as a six-lane expressway complete with east and westbound frontage roads. Interchanges included a full diamond at 120th Street and a folded-diamond interchange at 108th Street. The intersection with 114th Street was signalized among others.

The elevated express lanes will bypass 114th and 120th Streets to provide a seamless connection with the U.S. 6 freeway west of 132nd Street. Original West Dodge Road will remain in use for local traffic; frontage roads will be relocated to accommodate the new elevated structures and the 120th Street diamond interchange will be dismantled and replaced with a signalized intersection.

Ramps to the express lanes will tie into West Dodge Road west of 120th Street and east of 108th Street. The elevated lanes will descends west of 120th Street onto the preexisting freeway. Widening of that freeway coincides with the project to bring U.S. 6 up to nine overall lanes west to the 132nd Street interchange.

Work commenced in 2003 on the $100 million project that is expected to be completed this year, a full year ahead of schedule. The westbound elevated lanes opened to traffic on July 27, 2006; eastbound lanes opened to drivers on October 13, 2006. Both viaducts were originally slated for completion by August of 2007. Landscaping and other work involving completion the original West Dodge Road westbound lanes and the 114th Street intersection are all that remains on the 5-year project.

Further west, interchanges were constructed along U.S. 6 between 2005 and 2006 to bring the entire stretch of West Dodge Road between Interstate 680 and U.S. 275 up to freeway standards. Included is work involving the upgrading of U.S. 275 (240th Street) and West Dodge Road’s (Nebraska Link 28B) intersection into a full interchange.

West Dodge Road constitutes the easternmost segment of an overall freeway in the works between Interstate 680 and Omaha with Fremont to the northwest. U.S. 275 continues the limited access highway northward from Nebraska Line 28B (West Dodge Road west of U.S. 6 & Nebraska 31 (204th Street) northwest to its merge with Nebraska 64 (Maple Road). The pair continue northwest to Valley.

Various segments of the alignment between Waterloo, Valley, and Fremont exist as a freeway or a freeway in waiting. When all is said and done, the freeway will stretch east from U.S. 30 and 77 at Fremont southeast along U.S. 275 to West Dodge Road and Interstate 680.

U.S. 6 leaves West Dodge Road for 204th Street with Nebraska 31 south. The two highways venture south to Gretna. Nebraska Link 28B continues West Dodge Road to junction U.S. 275 (240th Street). Photo taken 09/05/05.

Returning eastward toward Elkhorn, U.S. 6 (West Dodge Road) nears the interchange with 180th Street, seen here under construction on September 5, 2005. The split intersection with 192nd Street was also upgraded to an interchange.

U.S. 6 sees SPUIS with 168th, 158th, and 144th Streets before the diamond interchange with 132nd Street. The U.S. 6 freeway transitioned into the West Dodge Street arterial/expressway east of here originally. With completion of the new elevated lanes, U.S. 6 carries four eastbound and five westbound lanes between 132nd Street and the ramps to the viaduct. Photo taken 09/05/05.

Passing through the original 120th Street diamond interchange on West Dodge Road eastbound. Work was well underway on completion of the elevated lanes at the time of this photograph. The 120th Street overpass and diamond interchange were removed in 2006 due to the freeway project and replaced with a signalized intersection. Photo taken 09/05/05.

Descending toward the busy 114th Street intersection on West Dodge Road eastbound with construction well underway. Drivers faced a series of signals from 114th Street east to Interstate 680. Now through traffic may bypass the at-grade intersections above. Photo taken 09/05/05.

U.S. 6’s elevated lanes tie directly into the directional-cloverleaf interchange with Interstate 680. West Dodge Road transitions into a surface arterial east of the ramps to Regency Parkway and Westroads Mall en route toward downtown Omaha. Interstate 680 provides a both a commuter route and a bypass of downtown for through traffic. The junction between U.S. 6 (West Dodge Road) and Interstate 680 was upgraded from a full-cloverleaf interchange by 2005. Photo taken 09/05/05.

Look for updated photos on AARoads of the West Dodge Road elevated lanes after April 2007.

Sources:

  1. Nebraska Department of Roads-West Dodge Project http://www.westdodge.info/
  2. http://www.dor.state.ne.us/docs/metro2006.pdf
  3. “Motorists expect daily drives to be quicker with new route.” Omaha World-Herald, July 28, 2006.
  4. “Dodge Traffic Expected to Pick Up With Expressway Open.” Omaha World-Herald, October 15, 2006.