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[J N Winkler]

It's pretty close to being finished, though many of the bridges still need upstream crash cushions, and I assume they'll be laying down erosion control matting in the median.

[US71]

On a related note, NE 2 at Lincoln is becoming Nebraska Parkway

https://www.klkntv.com/lincoln-prepares-to-say-goodbye-to-highway-2-hello-to-nebraska-parkway/

[74/171FAN]

On a related note, NE 2 at Lincoln is becoming Nebraska Parkway

https://www.klkntv.com/lincoln-prepares-to-say-goodbye-to-highway-2-hello-to-nebraska-parkway/

Am I correct that NE 2 will be rerouted on the Lincoln South Beltway to US 77?

[mvak36]

On a related note, NE 2 at Lincoln is becoming Nebraska Parkway

https://www.klkntv.com/lincoln-prepares-to-say-goodbye-to-highway-2-hello-to-nebraska-parkway/

Am I correct that NE 2 will be rerouted on the Lincoln South Beltway to US 77?

Yes that is correct.

[mrose]

I wonder if they will give the parkway a Business N-2 designation, or perhaps a link/spur number.

[zzcarp]

I wonder if they will give the parkway a Business N-2 designation, or perhaps a link/spur number.

The article says they're relinquishing control of the road to the city of Lincoln, so I would suggest not.

[DandyDan]

I wonder if they will give the parkway a Business N-2 designation, or perhaps a link/spur number.

The article says they're relinquishing control of the road to the city of Lincoln, so I would suggest not.

There's nothing stopping the city of Lincoln from doing that on its own. That's basically what Nebraska City does with Business N-2 and Business US 75. I doubt that would actually happen, though.

[triplemultiplex]

Just like to say good job Nebraska on the new configuration of the I-80/I-76 junction.  Very smooth.  First time thru since it's been done and I approve.

[mrose]

New beltway video today.

I guess the beltway is actually opening (!) on the 14th, which blows my mind - well ahead of schedule. Two of the interchanges will not open until 2024, though.

[yakra]

Is L55W still signed?

[zachary_amaryllis]

Just like to say good job Nebraska on the new configuration of the I-80/I-76 junction.  Very smooth.  First time thru since it's been done and I approve.

Haven't been through the new one. Google Earth shows it from the air, (or the other way around, can't recall) but if you go to the street view you get the old configuration.

Without looking at actual numbers, I'd almost guess more traffic goes to Denver than to Cheyenne there, which might have been why the original configuration sort of 'defaulted' you onto 76. Looks like they fixed the short part of 80 EB that actually went to one lane for a second, before rejoining ... itself. Also noticed that the exit is now signed "Exit 3" on 76, instead of 102 like it used to be.

Does look pretty spiffy, though. Agree on "good job".

[Stephane Dumas]

Without looking at actual numbers, I'd almost guess more traffic goes to Denver than to Cheyenne there, which might have been why the original configuration sort of 'defaulted' you onto 76. Looks like they fixed the short part of 80 EB that actually went to one lane for a second, before rejoining ... itself. Also noticed that the exit is now signed "Exit 3" on 76, instead of 102 like it used to be.

Does look pretty spiffy, though. Agree on "good job".

I could be interesting to see the traffic numbers in the previous decades and these photos showing I-76 eastern end are now historic. https://www.interstate-guide.com/i-076-west/

It would be fun to find older historic photos back when I-76 was known as I-80S.

[zachary_amaryllis]

Without looking at actual numbers, I'd almost guess more traffic goes to Denver than to Cheyenne there, which might have been why the original configuration sort of 'defaulted' you onto 76. Looks like they fixed the short part of 80 EB that actually went to one lane for a second, before rejoining ... itself. Also noticed that the exit is now signed "Exit 3" on 76, instead of 102 like it used to be.

Does look pretty spiffy, though. Agree on "good job".

I could be interesting to see the traffic numbers in the previous decades and these photos showing I-76 eastern end are now historic. https://www.interstate-guide.com/i-076-west/

It would be fun to find older historic photos back when I-76 was known as I-80S.

 I have very, very faint memories of that from being a kid. It was a common route when we took road trips - CO 14 east to 80s at Sterling, then NE into, .. well, NE. Really liked the old Denver area pictures - the old button copy, the 76/36 sign from back in the day. The ramp from SB 25 to EB 76 was this like 20mph thing.

[mvak36]

https://nebraska.tv/amp/news/local/ndot-announces-opening-of-lincoln-south-beltway-highway-2-four-lane-freeway-construction-2024-road-closures-nebraska-parkway

It’s open!!!

[mvak36]

https://www.wowt.com/2023/02/15/new-i-80-access-point-planning-process-western-sarpy-county/

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - For several years, the Metropolitan Area Planning Agency (MAPA) has been studying western Sarpy County, looking for the best place to add a new access point for Interstate 80.

“The two options are really right around 192nd Street and the interstate and 168th Street and the interstate,”  says Mike Helgerson, the Executive Director at MAPA.

Helgerson says a major factor in the project is the continued growth of Sarpy County.

“When you think about the rise of things like warehousing and distribution in the Omaha metro area and the way that the growth of that industry in the western Sarpy County area has really taken off in the last few years, you project that out ten years and there’s going to be a lot of new enterprises, new residents, rooftops out in this corridor.”

Right now, the major access points to I-80 in the area are Highway 370 and Highway 31.

The MAPA study shows that a new interchange between the two will help with traffic congestion, future development, and regional freight traffic.

“We did evaluate just making improvements to those interchanges at Highway 370 and Highway 31 and whether or not improvements at those locations would manage and satisfy the traffic volume we’re anticipating in the future, and we were really able to say that no those wouldn’t,”  Helgerson adds.

The study has been submitted to the Nebraska Department of Transportation and Nebraska’s Highway Administration. Once approved, the preliminary engineering and design phase, along with environmental decision making will be drawn up.

However, before they start digging, they also need federal approval.

All in all, the project could take up to 10 years.

“We’re hoping to accelerate this project and implement this project as quickly as possible so we don’t have this messy part where all this growth is happening and there isn’t this new access and interchanges that we have out there today are more strained than we even see presently.”

[The Ghostbuster]

If a new interchange is built within the vicinity of Interstate 80 between NE 31 and NE 370, would new roadways need to be built to serve the new interchange? Fairview Rd., S. 192 St., and Schram Rd. all pass over 80 along short overpass roadways. Any ramps built at these locations would connect with roadways at less than 90-degree angles, which I think is less than ideal for an Interstate corridor.

[J N Winkler]

If a new interchange is built within the vicinity of Interstate 80 between NE 31 and NE 370, would new roadways need to be built to serve the new interchange? Fairview Rd., S. 192 St., and Schram Rd. all pass over 80 along short overpass roadways. Any ramps built at these locations would connect with roadways at less than 90-degree angles, which I think is less than ideal for an Interstate corridor.

All of these are former section-line intersections that the I-80 right-of-way overlaps.  In each case, the intersection has been replaced by two sweeping right-angle turns connected by an overpass over I-80.

The existing overpass could be reused as part of a diamond interchange variant with a dogbone or dumbbell roundabouts, but this might not be the smart choice if detailed traffic forecasts (which, it sounds like, have yet to be developed) justify widening it to four or more lanes.

[mvak36]

If a new interchange is built within the vicinity of Interstate 80 between NE 31 and NE 370, would new roadways need to be built to serve the new interchange? Fairview Rd., S. 192 St., and Schram Rd. all pass over 80 along short overpass roadways. Any ramps built at these locations would connect with roadways at less than 90-degree angles, which I think is less than ideal for an Interstate corridor.

All of these are former section-line intersections that the I-80 right-of-way overlaps.  In each case, the intersection has been replaced by two sweeping right-angle turns connected by an overpass over I-80.

The existing overpass could be reused as part of a diamond interchange variant with a dogbone or dumbbell roundabouts, but this might not be the smart choice if detailed traffic forecasts (which, it sounds like, have yet to be developed) justify widening it to four or more lanes.

That area is growing so fast they probably will have to have a four lane overpass (at least) by the time they're ready to build the interchange.

[mvak36]

https://omaha.com/news/state-and-regional/traffic-will-soon-flow-on-first-section-of-new-fremont-beltway/article_d80e9c14-ea0c-11ed-b611-9f78e13393e9.html

Sometime Friday, without fanfare, the first car will head west from U.S. Highway 275 just south of Fremont on a brand-new strip of asphalt that is nearly two decades – and $62 million – in the making.

Weather permitting, Nebraska Department of Transportation engineers will open up the first section of the new Fremont Southeast Beltway. When it fully opens in July, the 3.2-mile stretch of road will connect U.S. 275 to U.S. Highway 77, which bisects Fremont from north to south. It's expected to carry 11,000 vehicles per day.

...


For the city, a major goal was to move truck traffic off of Broad Street, Fremont’s main north-south thoroughfare running through the heart of its commercial district. Within the city limits, it also is designated as Highway 77.

That designation will now move to the new beltway, and the city will take over control and maintenance of one of its major avenues.

“We’ll be able to go into Broad Street and make a lot of improvements,”  Spellerberg said.

The beltway will have no traffic lights, but it will have two circular roundabouts at Downing Street and Main Street near the Platte River bridge, as well as “teardrop”  roundabouts at U.S. 275.

It is the eastern half of the beltway – from U.S. 275 to Downing – that will open Friday. The opening was delayed from last week to avoid a conflict with a series of lane and ramp closures along U.S. 275 in Fremont, Gerbino-Bevins said.

The middle section will open next, and the western tie-in with U.S. 77 last. The formal ribbon-cutting is scheduled for July 6.

[triplemultiplex]

Little annoyed they seem to be using the terms "beltway" and "bypass" interchangeably there in that article. 
Also big fan of the phrase "circular roundabouts"; as if there are other kinds? 
But it wouldn't be roadgeekery if something pedantic like that didn't rub me the wrong way.

[skluth]

Little annoyed they seem to be using the terms "beltway" and "bypass" interchangeably there in that article. 
Also big fan of the phrase "circular roundabouts"; as if there are other kinds? 
But it wouldn't be roadgeekery if something pedantic like that didn't rub me the wrong way.

A dumbbell interchange would be an example of a non-circular roundabout. Roundabouts can also be elliptical though some would argue that's pedantic.

[mvak36]

Never heard about a modular roundabout until today: https://omaha.com/news/local/traffic-hot-spots-nebraska-to-start-work-on-1-million-roundabout-near-ashland/article_7177c710-03b0-11ee-b6c9-e3719cd1bb8a.html

[DandyDan]

FWIW, I drove up to Fremont from my parent's home in the Omaha area. They have thus far done a very poor job of marking the new (future?) US 77 exit on US 275. There isn't anything that let's you know it's upcoming until you are right there. The one mile warning for Morningside Road occurs first. It frankly all looks amateurish. Broad Street is still marked as US 77, too.

[jtespi]

FWIW, I drove up to Fremont from my parent's home in the Omaha area. They have thus far done a very poor job of marking the new (future?) US 77 exit on US 275. There isn't anything that let's you know it's upcoming until you are right there. The one mile warning for Morningside Road occurs first. It frankly all looks amateurish. Broad Street is still marked as US 77, too.

I don't think that road is open yet, correct? Google Maps says the newly constructed road and interchange are closed until July 2 (tomorrow). Perhaps they only put up the exit signs for that new exit just a few days ago. Google Street View from May 2023 shows no exit signage was installed at that time.

[mvak36]

https://omaha.com/news/state-regional/government-politics/nebraska-to-undertake-689-million-in-roads-projects-this-year/article_3a7e9a1a-1b46-11ee-8c3c-67f71ae0a937.html

State officials have announced one of the biggest-ever years of highway construction and maintenance projects, with more than $689 million worth of projects scheduled to launch by June 30 next year.

The biggest project is expanding a 7.6-mile stretch of Interstate 80 to six lanes, from Northwest 56th Street in Lincoln to Pleasant Dale. The $122.2 million project is part of a long-term plan to make I-80 six lanes from Lincoln to Grand Island.

A second major project is rebuilding the interchange at U.S. Highway 6 (West Dodge Road) and 192nd Street in Omaha. The new $14.2 million interchange will have a diverging diamond configuration, which eliminates left turns and should improve safety and relieve traffic congestion.

Other big projects include rebuilding 9.3 miles of the Interstate from the Dawson County line to Odessa, at a cost of $61.2 million, and expanding U.S. Highway 30 to four lanes from U.S. Highway 281 west through Grand Island for 3.7 miles, a $45.7 million project.