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Regional Boards => Central States => Topic started by: Revive 755 on March 29, 2009, 11:53:09 PM

Title: Nebraska
Post by: Revive 755 on March 29, 2009, 11:53:09 PM
I've done some research in university libraries lately, and found some good historical documents.  First area of interest was freeway planning for Omaha, where it seems the only freeway cancellation was the West Expressway, which I've tried to map a couple proposed alignments here:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=117499567522166489363.00046643f294a5f56cb77&ll=41.282838,-96.065311&spn=0.100489,0.264359&z=13 (http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=117499567522166489363.00046643f294a5f56cb77&ll=41.282838,-96.065311&spn=0.100489,0.264359&z=13)

The big find today was several corridor studies for unbuilt freeways and several modified expressway routes in Nebraska, which I've attempted to draw here:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=117499567522166489363.0004664a544f7f4301e74&ll=40.913513,-98.041992&spn=6.466272,16.918945&z=7 (http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=117499567522166489363.0004664a544f7f4301e74&ll=40.913513,-98.041992&spn=6.466272,16.918945&z=7)

It's midly depressing to look through some of the individual corridor studies and compare them to what was built today.  For example, US 77 between Lincoln and the Kansas border, although seemly downgraded to an expressway later on in the studies but still with many overpasses, would not have run through the small bergs of Cortland and Princeton as it does today, nor have a concurrency with NE 41.  A US 281 freeway between Grand Island and Hastings would have been much better than the stoplight infested route it is today.  The West Lincoln bypass would have either tied into I-180 near the US 6 overpass or had some sort of T-interchange with I-80 instead of the trumpet with 25 mph loop with many trucks and a short merging lane onto I-80.  Then I have to wonder about the money wasted redoing many of these studies instead of protecting the corridors.

I'm guessing since the freeways were planned to be built to interstate standards that NDOR planned to seek interstate numbers for some of them.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: Alps on March 30, 2009, 06:14:39 PM
QuoteI've done some research in university libraries lately, and found some good historical documents.  First area of interest was freeway planning for Omaha, where it seems the only freeway cancellation was the West Expressway, which I've tried to map a couple proposed alignments here:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=117499567522166489363.00046643f294a5f56cb77&ll=41.282838,-96.065311&spn=0.100489,0.264359&z=13 (http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=117499567522166489363.00046643f294a5f56cb77&ll=41.282838,-96.065311&spn=0.100489,0.264359&z=13)
Doesn't take much imagination to see what was planned to happen at the east end.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: Chris on March 31, 2009, 10:05:04 AM
I-80 across Nebraska:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcWn4eCyAFo (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcWn4eCyAFo)
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: Alex on March 31, 2009, 12:08:11 PM
We drove Interstate 80 in 2005 and went from misting rain to 95 degrees and blazing sun to random thunderstorms scattered about toward Wyoming.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: Scott5114 on March 31, 2009, 03:20:11 PM
I had to do the portion of I-80 from York to North Platte with nothing but a classical music station to listen to. (I wasn't driving.) And I think Prairie Home Companion came on somewhere in there. Now that's torture.  :no:
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: J N Winkler on April 05, 2009, 06:12:45 PM
I have actually made a point of avoiding I-80 when I want to go across Nebraska.  I have done SR 2 from Grand Island to beyond Alliance (the Sand Hills are well worth seeing, especially in low light) and US 26 from Ogallala to Scottsbluff via Bridgeport.  There are several reasons for this:

*  I have never been a fan of flat-country Interstate driving.  (In fact I'm not a fan of Interstate clinching in general--as far as I'm concerned, John Steinbeck had it right when he characterized the Interstates as a way of getting all around the US without seeing America.)

*  I-80 is actually fairly congested as rural Interstates go--even in the bits past Grand Island where NDOR doesn't anticipate widening for the next few decades.

*  For me, diagrammatic junction signs are a highlight of any visit to Nebraska.  I don't get to see these signs on Interstates.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: corco on April 05, 2009, 07:52:45 PM
^^This is possibly the most accurate statement anyone has ever made ever.

Nebraska has a reputation as being "boring" but once you get off the freeway it's actually quite beautiful
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: Revive 755 on April 06, 2009, 12:06:32 AM
Quote*  I-80 is actually fairly congested as rural Interstates go--even in the bits past Grand Island where NDOR doesn't anticipate widening for the next few decades.

I agree that I-80 has a surprising amount of traffic for the amount of population along it.  But if funding wasn't an issue, NDOR would be widening it past Grand Island.  Last time I checked, long-range plan was to six lane it to near Kearney.  But since the west end of the six lane section seems to keep moving west every time I check, I wouldn't be surprised if it is now planned for six lanes to I-76.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: corco on April 06, 2009, 12:16:37 AM
Honestly it wouldn't hurt to 6 lane it clear to Cheyenne, Wyoming. The truck traffic is pretty heavy even from Cheyenne to I-76
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: Chris on April 06, 2009, 10:04:25 AM
Traffic volumes (http://www.nebraskatransportation.org/maps/Statewide%20Traffic%20Flow%20Maps/2006%20Statewide%20Traffic%20Flow%20Map.pdf)

The part west of Lincoln has only 25,000 - 8,000 AADT. You really not need 6 lanes for that amount of traffic.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: Revive 755 on April 06, 2009, 04:27:54 PM
^ By the time NDOR even gets the funds to seriously consider widening out there, the traffic might be there.  I think I-80 is one of those interstates that suffers from large seasonal fluctuations in traffic, so during vacation season it gets much closer to needing six lanes.

Then at NDOR's public meeting on the planned NE 2/US 75 SPUI at Nebraska City, I heard two things that indicate truck traffic might skyrocket on I-80 in the future.  First there are supposed to be major problems and possible restrictions on I-70 west of Denver.  Second, and more likely, truck traffic will drastically increase on NE 2 between I-80 and I-29 once the Lincoln bypass is complete.  Whether this is new truck traffic or truck traffic that is currently taking a different routes I'm not sure.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: Revive 755 on July 01, 2009, 01:41:45 PM
Article a few days ago mainly about the delaying of the South Lincoln Beltway, but there's extremely brief mention of having to update the environmental documents for a few other expressway projects, such as the Heartland Expressway and NE 35 corridor (Norfolk to Sioux City).

http://journalstar.com/articles/2009/06/27/news/local/doc4a4546aa21820955636759.txt (http://journalstar.com/articles/2009/06/27/news/local/doc4a4546aa21820955636759.txt)
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: Sykotyk on July 03, 2009, 12:43:10 PM
If a truck is going from Wyoming to KC/STL/etc, I-80 to NE-2 to I-29 is the fastest way, even with all the traffic through Lincoln. So, any uptick would revolve around other means.

Now, a trucker won't take I-70 through western Colorado unless absolutely necessary, so the only issue would be: I-70 west to I-25 north to I-80 west, or I-70 west, to I-29 north to NE-2 west to I-80 west. Eliminate Lincoln, and that becomes the better way through.

Nebraska's stretch (and Iowa's) of I-80 are overloaded. Forget traffic counts, drive the road sometime. The problem isn't volume, it's the truck traffic. I-80 is a crucial shipping lane for points east and points west along the middle of the country. And from Joliet, IL west (aside from cities), it's two-lanes each way until just east of Sacramento.

Sure, the Nevada, Utah, Wyoming stretches are less congested, up until the I-80/I-76 split in Big Spring, Nebraska, the traffic chokes the road.

Sykotyk
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: Snappyjack on July 03, 2009, 03:39:14 PM
If you think I-80 through Nebraska is boring, give I-70 through Kansas a try. Ugh..
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: Chris on July 03, 2009, 03:43:47 PM
I love such freeways. Wyoming would probably a great place for me  :love:
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: corco on July 04, 2009, 12:43:28 AM
Quote from: Snappyjack on July 03, 2009, 03:39:14 PM
If you think I-80 through Nebraska is boring, give I-70 through Kansas a try. Ugh..

This a thousand times. Nebraska gets a bad rap but is actually a comparatively interesting state
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: andy3175 on September 24, 2017, 12:09:00 AM
Recent article on a slate of highway improvements across Nebraska, including a stated goal to complete the expressway network: http://www.omaha.com/news/metro/million-u-s-expressway-project-is-largest-of-highway-projects/article_eed48504-61db-11e7-8602-3f077f255f6c.html (article dated July 5, 2017)

QuoteNebraska transportation officials announced plans Wednesday to forge ahead with a nearly $53 million segment of the U.S. 30 expressway this year.

The 3.1-mile segment between Rogers and North Bend, in Dodge County, is the largest of 100 highway projects that are to be let to contract during the fiscal year that began July 1.

It also is the only project of the year to be undertaken with Build Nebraska Act funds.

The act earmarks a quarter-cent of sales tax dollars to roads projects, with priority given to finishing the state expressway system and upgrading Interstate 80.

Repair and rebuilding of existing state roads and highways account for most of the projects listed in the State Department of Transportation's 2018 Surface Transportation Program book. ...

But Schneweis said the same law that created the bank should accelerate construction on a four-lane expressway on U.S. 275 between Scribner and West Point.

That project will be the first undertaken with a "design-build"  process – in which a single entity provides design and construction services – allowed under the Transportation Innovation Act, passed by the Legislature last year.

Schneweis said officials hope the new process will make it possible to start construction on the U.S. 275 expressway by 2019.

They said they hope construction will progress more quickly once it's started by using a "2+2 system"  for building the expressway. The system involves adding two lanes to the existing highway, rather than building an entirely new four-lane road.

Along with the U.S. 30 expressway segment, this year's major projects include upgrading a 12.1-mile stretch of I-80 from Bushnell to the Wyoming state line. The upgrade is expected to cost about $46.7 million.

I found the Nebraska State Department of Transportation's 2018 Surface Transportation Program book at http://dot.nebraska.gov/projects/publications/program-book/. A ton of planned and anticipated projects are listed in this document. Construction of the US 275 expressway (page 20), as well as portions of the Lincoln beltway (page 8), are included.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: Brandon on September 25, 2017, 01:39:26 PM
Quote from: Sykotyk on July 03, 2009, 12:43:10 PM
If a truck is going from Wyoming to KC/STL/etc, I-80 to NE-2 to I-29 is the fastest way, even with all the traffic through Lincoln. So, any uptick would revolve around other means.

Now, a trucker won't take I-70 through western Colorado unless absolutely necessary, so the only issue would be: I-70 west to I-25 north to I-80 west, or I-70 west, to I-29 north to NE-2 west to I-80 west. Eliminate Lincoln, and that becomes the better way through.

Nebraska's stretch (and Iowa's) of I-80 are overloaded. Forget traffic counts, drive the road sometime. The problem isn't volume, it's the truck traffic. I-80 is a crucial shipping lane for points east and points west along the middle of the country. And from Joliet, IL west (aside from cities), it's two-lanes each way until just east of Sacramento.

Sure, the Nevada, Utah, Wyoming stretches are less congested, up until the I-80/I-76 split in Big Spring, Nebraska, the traffic chokes the road.

Sykotyk

Much agreed.  It is the truck traffic that chokes these roads (even I-55 between Joliet and the Illinois suburbs of Saint Louis for that matter).  The third lane that NDOR put in between Lincoln and Omaha makes a lot of difference.  One can actually get around slower (read: speed limited) truck traffic.  On the two-lane stretches, it can be a real bear until the trucks finally vacate the left lane.

80 only gets three lanes (or more) through Iowa City, Des Moines, Council Bluffs to Lincoln, and in Salt Lake west of here.  East, it's also two-lanes from Lake Station to Toledo, then from Youngstown to somewhere in New Jersey.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: Stephane Dumas on July 03, 2020, 04:51:54 PM
Time to revive this thread back from the dead.

I saw that video showing the construction of the South Lincoln Beltway filmed last May.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UV0DDFK04Wk
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: 3467 on July 05, 2020, 01:15:51 PM
I don't think any of the Corridors 755 are busy enough for freeways. Nice to see them finish their system.
Illinois Missouri Iowa as well as PA and NY  came out with post interstate plans in that same era. Did any of their neighbors except Iowa?
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: skluth on July 05, 2020, 04:09:02 PM
Nebraska has a nice web page for the Lincoln South Beltway (https://dot.nebraska.gov/lincoln-south-beltway/). The project looks to be complete by the end of 2022.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: captkirk_4 on August 16, 2020, 03:41:20 PM
Quote from: Scott5114 on March 31, 2009, 03:20:11 PM
I had to do the portion of I-80 from York to North Platte with nothing but a classical music station to listen to. (I wasn't driving.) And I think Prairie Home Companion came on somewhere in there. Now that's torture.  :no:

Yes, there's almost no radio stations in the rural parts of I-80 in Nebraska. My brother complained the only one was some AM station where they were yacking away about High School Football with the same enthusiasm usually reserved for the NFL. At least on I-70 there is a powerful AM signal coming out of Garden City with Limbaugh etc on that you can hear from Saline all the way into Colorado.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: captkirk_4 on August 17, 2020, 09:08:07 AM
Quote from: skluth on July 05, 2020, 04:09:02 PM
Nebraska has a nice web page for the Lincoln South Beltway (https://dot.nebraska.gov/lincoln-south-beltway/). The project looks to be complete by the end of 2022.

Definitely needed, I took Nebraska 2 coming up I 29 over to I-80 and made good time until entering Lincoln and entered this hellish urban stretch with endless stoplights. I checked on Google Maps and it looks like US77 going north from where the new highway ends is also not completely access controlled. I wonder if that is going to be improved all the way up to I-80 as well?
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: mvak36 on August 17, 2020, 09:19:20 AM
Quote from: captkirk_4 on August 17, 2020, 09:08:07 AM
Quote from: skluth on July 05, 2020, 04:09:02 PM
Nebraska has a nice web page for the Lincoln South Beltway (https://dot.nebraska.gov/lincoln-south-beltway/). The project looks to be complete by the end of 2022.

Definitely needed, I took Nebraska 2 coming up I 29 over to I-80 and made good time until entering Lincoln and entered this hellish urban stretch with endless stoplights. I checked on Google Maps and it looks like US77 going north from where the new highway ends is also not completely access controlled. I wonder if that is going to be improved all the way up to I-80 as well?
Yes, that stretch of US77 is part of the Lincoln West Beltway (https://dot.nebraska.gov/projects/bna/first10/fy-2020-2023/lincoln-west-beltway/) project. I am not sure when construction on that will start.

There is also a proposed East Beltway (https://lincoln.ne.gov/city/ltu/projects/east-beltway/) but that's still in preliminary phases.

https://lincoln.ne.gov/city/ltu/projects/east-beltway/pdf/future-beltway-system.pdf
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/gallery/12408_17_08_20_9_39_16.png)
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: Stephane Dumas on August 17, 2020, 02:39:42 PM
I founded this video showing the Lincoln South Beltway posted on July 22.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjjUIAV1EBo
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: Stephane Dumas on June 01, 2021, 09:26:09 AM
I bump this thread by mentionning these 2 videos of the Lincoln South beltway posted around mid-May.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOqB8Z57ZcA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w18fqfdTIBQ
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: yakra on June 06, 2021, 04:34:08 PM
https://fremonttribune.com/news/local/portion-of-new-highway-30-project-opened-west-of-north-bend/article_cb7f1a53-7574-5ff8-943b-71009e3b7f97.html
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: mvak36 on June 13, 2021, 10:22:09 PM
The Omaha World Herald had an article today about the Nebraska Expressway System and how cities in Northeast Nebraska are trying to get the remaining segments completed: https://omaha.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/long-delayed-nebraska-expressway-moving-forward-but-not-fast-enough-for-some/article_f3348f58-c7db-11eb-9e59-a3116a5533e3.html

Progress report on 6 segments of the Nebraska Expressway System: https://omaha.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/progress-report-on-6-segments-of-nebraskas-expressway-system/article_e93677b8-ca70-11eb-8b17-5ba1f5f19111.html
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: roadman65 on June 20, 2021, 11:32:32 AM
https://www.ketv.com/article/150th-and-hwy-370-has-buckled-due-to-high-temperatures/36757907#

High temps buckles part of NE 370 in Omaha.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: mvak36 on July 08, 2021, 11:03:59 AM
They've started construction on widening a stretch of US75 from Plattsmouth to Murray.

Article from June: https://fremonttribune.com/community/cass-news/news/widening-project-ready-to-start-completion-set-for-mid-2023/article_d37bb7e5-a748-5987-9854-7bf87addae24.html

Slowly making their way down to Nebraska City.

Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: DandyDan on July 11, 2021, 06:31:04 PM
Just curious to know exactly when Nebraska Highway 85 was decommissioned. I drove back to my parents in the Omaha area, did some random driving (there was lots of tree damage in a recent storm), and saw all the NE 85 signs were removed. NE 85 was 84th Street in Omaha, Ralston, and LaVista and Washington Street in Papillion.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: Route66Fan on July 11, 2021, 07:48:50 PM
Quote from: captkirk_4 on August 16, 2020, 03:41:20 PM
Quote from: Scott5114 on March 31, 2009, 03:20:11 PM
I had to do the portion of I-80 from York to North Platte with nothing but a classical music station to listen to. (I wasn't driving.) And I think Prairie Home Companion came on somewhere in there. Now that's torture.  :no:

Yes, there's almost no radio stations in the rural parts of I-80 in Nebraska. My brother complained the only one was some AM station where they were yacking away about High School Football with the same enthusiasm usually reserved for the NFL. At least on I-70 there is a powerful AM signal coming out of Garden City with Limbaugh etc on that you can hear from Saline all the way into Colorado.
According to Wikipedia, there are some radio stations in Grand Island, NE & North Platte, NE.

SM-J737P

Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: mrose on July 12, 2021, 03:44:30 AM
75 from Plattsmouth to NebCity is long overdue; glad it is finally being done.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: Stephane Dumas on July 12, 2021, 10:38:37 AM
Quote from: mrose on July 12, 2021, 03:44:30 AM
75 from Plattsmouth to NebCity is long overdue; glad it is finally being done.


Yeah, btw is US-75 between Plattsmouth and Nebraska City get flooded like I-29 was?
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: yakra on July 12, 2021, 11:35:06 AM
Quote from: DandyDan on July 11, 2021, 06:31:04 PM
Just curious to know exactly when Nebraska Highway 85 was decommissioned. I drove back to my parents in the Omaha area, did some random driving (there was lots of tree damage in a recent storm), and saw all the NE 85 signs were removed. NE 85 was 84th Street in Omaha, Ralston, and LaVista and Washington Street in Papillion.
Must have been pretty recent. All the city & county maps on NDOT's website still show it, as does GMSV from 2019.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: J N Winkler on July 12, 2021, 11:48:41 AM
Quote from: Stephane Dumas on July 12, 2021, 10:38:37 AMYeah, btw is US-75 between Plattsmouth and Nebraska City get flooded like I-29 was?

I have never heard of it being flooded.  In places where it closely parallels I-29, such as at Nebraska City, it is on top of bluffs while I-29 is in low-lying ground that floods easily.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: mvak36 on July 12, 2021, 01:33:19 PM
Quote from: J N Winkler on July 12, 2021, 11:48:41 AM
Quote from: Stephane Dumas on July 12, 2021, 10:38:37 AMYeah, btw is US-75 between Plattsmouth and Nebraska City get flooded like I-29 was?

I have never heard of it being flooded.  In places where it closely parallels I-29, such as at Nebraska City, it is on top of bluffs while I-29 is in low-lying ground that floods easily.

Yeah. It hasn't flooded in either of the 2011 or 2019 floods. The problem is every one uses it when I-29 floods. I found an alternate route (NE-50) to Omaha that ended up working out better for my final destination point.

Quote from: mrose on July 12, 2021, 03:44:30 AM
75 from Plattsmouth to NebCity is long overdue; glad it is finally being done.

The part from Murray to Nebraska City isn't funded for construction. I thought it might be funded for design but I'm not sure.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: kphoger on July 12, 2021, 02:26:58 PM
Quote from: DandyDan on July 11, 2021, 06:31:04 PM
Just curious to know exactly when Nebraska Highway 85 was decommissioned. I drove back to my parents in the Omaha area, did some random driving (there was lots of tree damage in a recent storm), and saw all the NE 85 signs were removed. NE 85 was 84th Street in Omaha, Ralston, and LaVista and Washington Street in Papillion.

https://www.wowt.com/content/news/Nebraska-hands-over-Highway-85-to-local-communities-to-make-changes-558577031.html
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: DandyDan on July 12, 2021, 03:32:05 PM
Quote from: mvak36 on July 12, 2021, 01:33:19 PM
Quote from: J N Winkler on July 12, 2021, 11:48:41 AM
Quote from: Stephane Dumas on July 12, 2021, 10:38:37 AMYeah, btw is US-75 between Plattsmouth and Nebraska City get flooded like I-29 was?

I have never heard of it being flooded.  In places where it closely parallels I-29, such as at Nebraska City, it is on top of bluffs while I-29 is in low-lying ground that floods easily.

Yeah. It hasn't flooded in either of the 2011 or 2019 floods. The problem is every one uses it when I-29 floods. I found an alternate route (NE-50) to Omaha that ended up working out better for my final destination point.

Quote from: mrose on July 12, 2021, 03:44:30 AM
75 from Plattsmouth to NebCity is long overdue; glad it is finally being done.

The part from Murray to Nebraska City isn't funded for construction. I thought it might be funded for design but I'm not sure.
One thing I remember when I still lived in Nebraska and would look stuff up is that the US 75/NE 1 intersection is the boundary between the Omaha and Lincoln districts. Therefore, it wouldn't be funded south of there.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: mvak36 on July 12, 2021, 10:49:54 PM
Quote from: DandyDan on July 12, 2021, 03:32:05 PM
Quote from: mvak36 on July 12, 2021, 01:33:19 PM
Quote from: J N Winkler on July 12, 2021, 11:48:41 AM
Quote from: Stephane Dumas on July 12, 2021, 10:38:37 AMYeah, btw is US-75 between Plattsmouth and Nebraska City get flooded like I-29 was?

I have never heard of it being flooded.  In places where it closely parallels I-29, such as at Nebraska City, it is on top of bluffs while I-29 is in low-lying ground that floods easily.

Yeah. It hasn't flooded in either of the 2011 or 2019 floods. The problem is every one uses it when I-29 floods. I found an alternate route (NE-50) to Omaha that ended up working out better for my final destination point.

Quote from: mrose on July 12, 2021, 03:44:30 AM
75 from Plattsmouth to NebCity is long overdue; glad it is finally being done.

The part from Murray to Nebraska City isn't funded for construction. I thought it might be funded for design but I'm not sure.
One thing I remember when I still lived in Nebraska and would look stuff up is that the US 75/NE 1 intersection is the boundary between the Omaha and Lincoln districts. Therefore, it wouldn't be funded south of there.

I looked and it is funded for design in the next 10 years (https://dot.nebraska.gov/projects/tia/cap-improve/) of the Build Nebraska Act.

Project Fact Sheet: https://dot.nebraska.gov/media/5786/us-75-from-nebraska-city-to-murrary.pdf
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: SD Mapman on November 23, 2021, 11:21:23 PM
Since this isn't really big enough to need its own thread, I figured I'd just bump this instead. The I-76/I-80 interchange reconfiguration is mostly complete, and the biggest takeaways for me are that I-76 has been remileposted from N-S to E-W (like it should be, not sure why NE had it as N-S in the first place) and that the I-80 exit on I-76 is now Exit 3, not Exit 102.

Would have taken pics but it was dark.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: edwaleni on November 29, 2021, 12:59:06 PM
Quote from: SD Mapman on November 23, 2021, 11:21:23 PM
Since this isn't really big enough to need its own thread, I figured I'd just bump this instead. The I-76/I-80 interchange reconfiguration is mostly complete, and the biggest takeaways for me are that I-76 has been remileposted from N-S to E-W (like it should be, not sure why NE had it as N-S in the first place) and that the I-80 exit on I-76 is now Exit 3, not Exit 102.

Would have taken pics but it was dark.

Because I-76 used to be I-80S.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: JayhawkCO on November 29, 2021, 01:09:57 PM
Quote from: edwaleni on November 29, 2021, 12:59:06 PM
Quote from: SD Mapman on November 23, 2021, 11:21:23 PM
Since this isn't really big enough to need its own thread, I figured I'd just bump this instead. The I-76/I-80 interchange reconfiguration is mostly complete, and the biggest takeaways for me are that I-76 has been remileposted from N-S to E-W (like it should be, not sure why NE had it as N-S in the first place) and that the I-80 exit on I-76 is now Exit 3, not Exit 102.

Would have taken pics but it was dark.

Because I-76 used to be I-80S.

But that means it's the southern version of I-80, which is an east/west highway.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: J N Winkler on November 29, 2021, 01:31:56 PM
Per the signing plans for the recently finished I-76/I-80 interchange project--NDOT project number NH-80-2(100)--I-76 is still to be signed north/south in Nebraska, at least on the large guide signs.  Is the east/west signing on enhanced location reference markers or the like?
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: edwaleni on November 29, 2021, 01:52:25 PM
Did Nebraska DOT end up going with that RCUT style interchange with US30 and N-79 north of North Bend?

Seems pretty dangerous to me compared to a simple interstate style exit ramp.

(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51713744958_4419c8aeff_b.jpg)
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: Stephane Dumas on November 29, 2021, 02:20:56 PM
Quote from: edwaleni on November 29, 2021, 01:52:25 PM
Did Nebraska DOT end up going with that RCUT style interchange with US30 and N-79 north of North Bend?

Seems pretty dangerous to me compared to a simple interstate style exit ramp.

(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51713744958_4419c8aeff_b.jpg)

I wondered the same thing, I prefer a diamond interchange to a "Nebraska Left" for that location.

Also, there's a new video of the Lincoln South Beltway construction. I wish Google Maps, Bing Maps, Apple Maps and Esri update their satellite views of that area.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XkxJO042XY
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: SD Mapman on November 29, 2021, 05:10:04 PM
Quote from: J N Winkler on November 29, 2021, 01:31:56 PM
Per the signing plans for the recently finished I-76/I-80 interchange project--NDOT project number NH-80-2(100)--I-76 is still to be signed north/south in Nebraska, at least on the large guide signs.  Is the east/west signing on enhanced location reference markers or the like?
It was signed E-W on the little milepost guide signs, as well as (I think) the first reassurance shield from Colorado. I'll be back in a month (it's on the way to see family out by Omaha) and will confirm then.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: edwaleni on November 29, 2021, 05:14:55 PM
The problem with this RCUT style is that you are asking slower traffic to turn right and be able to merge left in enough time to not disturb oncoming traffic, many of which will be traveling at 70mph or more.

This has been an ongoing issue with these rural 4 lane freeways that want to maintain intersections with rural or low volume state highways.

Looking left, you can't always judge the speed of the oncoming vehicle, its worst at night, terrible for motorcycles.

While it abates the issue of right side impacts, you have increased the risk of rear-enders because these drivers are being asked to cross not just the 2 lanes on the lower side, but also navigate 2 more lanes on the upper side to get back to their right turn.

Nebraska DOT cost cutting move IMHO. 

They didn't want to pay for doing it correctly, so they came up with this "safety" option instead.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: mvak36 on December 09, 2021, 01:33:43 PM
https://omaha.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/nebraska-to-spend-nearly-15-billion-on-state-highways-over-next-20-years/article_38db011c-5798-11ec-b4d3-df68af7ade67.html

Quote
Nebraska transportation officials expect to spend nearly $15 billion maintaining and improving the state's highway system over the next 20 years, but it remains unclear how federal infrastructure money will factor into those plans.

John Selmer, who started as director of the Department of Transportation in March, told state lawmakers on Wednesday that he is "pleased to find the agency and its current environment much more favorable"  than in years past.

"The Nebraska Department of Transportation is more agile and resilient because of the lessons learned during the 2019 floods and the lingering COVID pandemic,"  Selmer said.

The majority of the estimated $14.8 billion in spending over the next 20 years is expected for maintaining roads and bridges – patching, sealing cracks, resurfacing and more. That's projected to cost $9.5 billion.

According to the department's analysis, about 82% of total highway miles in the state are rated at least "good,"  which meets the department's goal. For state-owned bridges, 58% are in "good"  condition, about 39% are in "fair"  condition and about 3% are in "poor"  condition.

System modernization, which refers to safety upgrades that don't add capacity, is expected to cost $1.8 billion, while capital improvements – projects that add capacity and infrastructure for economic development – are expected to cost $3.5 billion.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: Great Lakes Roads on December 23, 2021, 10:41:48 PM
I watched BigRigTravel's live stream today, and at 6:26:15 in the video, you can see that I-76 is signed N-S on the BGS. I am curious as to what the mile markers are signed in Nebraska on that section of 76. N-S or E-W directions?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIr9k3DOxCk
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: SD Mapman on December 24, 2021, 05:26:45 PM
Quote from: Great Lakes Roads on December 23, 2021, 10:41:48 PM
I watched BigRigTravel's live stream today, and at 6:26:15 in the video, you can see that I-76 is signed N-S on the BGS. I am curious as to what the mile markers are signed in Nebraska on that section of 76. N-S or E-W directions?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIr9k3DOxCk
E-W, just traveled that a few days ago.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: TheHighwayMan3561 on December 26, 2021, 08:05:35 PM
Wait, when did they flip the configuration to have I-76 exit on the right from I-80 WB?
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: J N Winkler on December 26, 2021, 08:29:46 PM
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on December 26, 2021, 08:05:35 PMWait, when did they flip the configuration to have I-76 exit on the right from I-80 WB?

This was part of the just-finished interchange rebuild, which was advertised for construction in the spring of 2019.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: mvak36 on January 05, 2022, 10:14:52 AM
https://omaha.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/state-plans-to-widen-7-5-miles-of-i-80-just-west-of-lincoln/article_78806196-f948-5e11-b050-28e67d1c8b61.html#tracking-source=home-the-latest

QuoteThe first stretch of the planned, six-lane interstate between Lincoln and Grand Island is now more than a wish – but it's still five years from completion.

The state Department of Transportation recently added a 7.5-mile Interstate 80 widening project – from Northwest 56th Street to the Pleasant Dale exit – to its 2022-2025 state transportation improvement plan.

It plans to hire contractors for the estimated $130 million project next year, with construction expected to start in 2024 and end in 2027, said spokeswoman Jeni Campana.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: Stephane Dumas on January 22, 2022, 06:17:31 PM
Google maps did an update of aerial shots, they show now the South Lincoln Beltway in construction.
https://www.google.com/maps/@40.6925584,-96.6409687,6795m/data=!3m1!1e3
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: The Ghostbuster on January 24, 2022, 05:09:21 PM
Any updates on whether an Eastern Lincoln Beltway might be constructed? Also, when was NE 2's duplex with US 34 severed between Grand Island and Lincoln, leaving NE 2 with an eastern and western segment, and why?
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: edwaleni on January 24, 2022, 11:02:57 PM
Quote from: The Ghostbuster on January 24, 2022, 05:09:21 PM
Any updates on whether an Eastern Lincoln Beltway might be constructed? Also, when was NE 2's duplex with US 34 severed between Grand Island and Lincoln, leaving NE 2 with an eastern and western segment, and why?

https://www.lincoln.ne.gov/City/Departments/LTU/LTU-Projects/Planned/East-Beltway (https://www.lincoln.ne.gov/City/Departments/LTU/LTU-Projects/Planned/East-Beltway)

The city was purchasing the ROW in 2019.

In 2020 the Lincoln highway director was pitching a tollroad concept as the only way to expedite construction.

So in 2022, I would surmise its needs funding.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: mvak36 on January 25, 2022, 10:10:28 AM
Quote from: edwaleni on January 24, 2022, 11:02:57 PM
Quote from: The Ghostbuster on January 24, 2022, 05:09:21 PM
Any updates on whether an Eastern Lincoln Beltway might be constructed? Also, when was NE 2's duplex with US 34 severed between Grand Island and Lincoln, leaving NE 2 with an eastern and western segment, and why?

https://www.lincoln.ne.gov/City/Departments/LTU/LTU-Projects/Planned/East-Beltway (https://www.lincoln.ne.gov/City/Departments/LTU/LTU-Projects/Planned/East-Beltway)

The city was purchasing the ROW in 2019.

In 2020 the Lincoln highway director was pitching a tollroad concept as the only way to expedite construction.

So in 2022, I would surmise its needs funding.

Yes, you are right.

Back in 2016/2017 time when they picked the project for the next 10 years of the Build Nebraska Act, this project was one of the projects chosen (https://dot.nebraska.gov/media/5802/new-bna-tia-projects-map-list.pdf) for Planning. I don't think it's anywhere close to construction. It is definitely needed though. I'm not sure tolls will go over well, but crazier stuff has happened I suppose.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: chays on January 25, 2022, 01:31:03 PM
Will the Lincoln South Beltway have a route # once complete? I'm seeing a late 2022 date for the estimated completion.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: yakra on January 25, 2022, 02:45:43 PM
Quote from: chays on January 25, 2022, 01:31:03 PM
Will the Lincoln South Beltway have a route # once complete?
I believe it'll be a relocated NE2.

Quote from: chays on January 25, 2022, 01:31:03 PM
I'm seeing a late 2022 date for the estimated completion.
I see May 1, 2023 Open to Traffic / April 30, 2024 Final Completion (https://dot.nebraska.gov/media/114933/lsb-quarterly-report.pdf)
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: zachary_amaryllis on January 25, 2022, 05:02:52 PM
Quote from: SD Mapman on December 24, 2021, 05:26:45 PM
Quote from: Great Lakes Roads on December 23, 2021, 10:41:48 PM
I watched BigRigTravel's live stream today, and at 6:26:15 in the video, you can see that I-76 is signed N-S on the BGS. I am curious as to what the mile markers are signed in Nebraska on that section of 76. N-S or E-W directions?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIr9k3DOxCk
E-W, just traveled that a few days ago.

does 76 in nebraska even have a mile marker? the nebraska part of 76 is really small.. i thought it was under a mile, but it's been a long time since i've been out there.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: US 89 on January 25, 2022, 07:29:08 PM
Quote from: zachary_amaryllis on January 25, 2022, 05:02:52 PM
does 76 in nebraska even have a mile marker? the nebraska part of 76 is really small.. i thought it was under a mile, but it's been a long time since i've been out there.

The internet is your friend. Wikipedia says the Nebraska length of 76 is 3.15 miles (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_76_(Colorado%E2%80%93Nebraska)#Route_description).

As for mile markers...well, there used to be at least one (https://goo.gl/maps/zL4HH2ADQdRSZzZb7), but it's not there anymore thanks to the reconstruction projects. I bet if/when it's all done, it'll have the Nebraska style enhanced mile markers every 0.5 mile like the ones on 80.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: Revive 755 on January 25, 2022, 10:37:58 PM
Quote from: yakra on January 25, 2022, 02:45:43 PM
Quote from: chays on January 25, 2022, 01:31:03 PM
Will the Lincoln South Beltway have a route # once complete?
I believe it'll be a relocated NE2.

IIRC - and this might have changed since I heard it - Highway 2 was going onto the Beltway with current Highway 2 becoming a locally-maintained business route.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: mrose on January 26, 2022, 03:31:34 AM
NE2 is going on the beltway. They are moving the old alignment and configuring it to meet up as a diamond interchange.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: SD Mapman on January 28, 2022, 01:09:50 PM
Quote from: US 89 on January 25, 2022, 07:29:08 PM
Quote from: zachary_amaryllis on January 25, 2022, 05:02:52 PM
does 76 in nebraska even have a mile marker? the nebraska part of 76 is really small.. i thought it was under a mile, but it's been a long time since i've been out there.

The internet is your friend. Wikipedia says the Nebraska length of 76 is 3.15 miles (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_76_(Colorado%E2%80%93Nebraska)#Route_description).

As for mile markers...well, there used to be at least one (https://goo.gl/maps/zL4HH2ADQdRSZzZb7), but it's not there anymore thanks to the reconstruction projects. I bet if/when it's all done, it'll have the Nebraska style enhanced mile markers every 0.5 mile like the ones on 80.
They're already up, and they are the NE enhanced mile markers. Since it's out in the Panhandle, they're spaced every mile (so there's only 3 each way).
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: SD Mapman on January 28, 2022, 01:12:39 PM
Quote from: yakra on January 25, 2022, 02:45:43 PM
Quote from: chays on January 25, 2022, 01:31:03 PM
Will the Lincoln South Beltway have a route # once complete?
I believe it'll be a relocated NE2.
Yeah, that's how NDOT usually does beltways, the stretch of Nebraska Highway through Lincoln itself will likely be removed from the state system and L55W will probably go away as well.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: Scott5114 on January 28, 2022, 03:37:10 PM
Has anyone even asked NE2 if he's fine with being relocated?
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: mrose on January 29, 2022, 09:44:02 PM
I thought once the east belt was finished the entire thing would make a good I-780 (77 to 80, geddit?) but that's a long way from happening. Curious to see what number they would give to the eastern segment since it won't be part of NE 2.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: Revive 755 on January 29, 2022, 10:47:37 PM
^ The way the US 77/South Beltway interchange and at the Highway 2/South Beltway/East Beltway interchange are being setup to have the betlway as the main road make me wonder if Nebraska is planning to seek a single number for the full beltway (I- or NE 280?)

Though theoretically US 77 could be relocated over the South and East Beltways, with Highway 2 taking over for US 77 between I-80 and the South Beltway.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: US 89 on January 30, 2022, 02:47:25 PM
Quote from: SD Mapman on January 28, 2022, 01:09:50 PM
Quote from: US 89 on January 25, 2022, 07:29:08 PM
Quote from: zachary_amaryllis on January 25, 2022, 05:02:52 PM
does 76 in nebraska even have a mile marker? the nebraska part of 76 is really small.. i thought it was under a mile, but it's been a long time since i've been out there.

The internet is your friend. Wikipedia says the Nebraska length of 76 is 3.15 miles (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_76_(Colorado%E2%80%93Nebraska)#Route_description).

As for mile markers...well, there used to be at least one (https://goo.gl/maps/zL4HH2ADQdRSZzZb7), but it's not there anymore thanks to the reconstruction projects. I bet if/when it's all done, it'll have the Nebraska style enhanced mile markers every 0.5 mile like the ones on 80.
They're already up, and they are the NE enhanced mile markers. Since it's out in the Panhandle, they're spaced every mile (so there's only 3 each way).

I could swear they were every half mile out in the sticks when I drove through in 2020. Guess I remembered wrong. I know they are closer (0.2 or maybe even 0.1 miles?) in the Lincoln/Omaha areas.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: SD Mapman on January 31, 2022, 01:44:46 PM
Quote from: US 89 on January 30, 2022, 02:47:25 PM
Quote from: SD Mapman on January 28, 2022, 01:09:50 PM
Quote from: US 89 on January 25, 2022, 07:29:08 PM
Quote from: zachary_amaryllis on January 25, 2022, 05:02:52 PM
does 76 in nebraska even have a mile marker? the nebraska part of 76 is really small.. i thought it was under a mile, but it's been a long time since i've been out there.

The internet is your friend. Wikipedia says the Nebraska length of 76 is 3.15 miles (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_76_(Colorado%E2%80%93Nebraska)#Route_description).

As for mile markers...well, there used to be at least one (https://goo.gl/maps/zL4HH2ADQdRSZzZb7), but it's not there anymore thanks to the reconstruction projects. I bet if/when it's all done, it'll have the Nebraska style enhanced mile markers every 0.5 mile like the ones on 80.
They're already up, and they are the NE enhanced mile markers. Since it's out in the Panhandle, they're spaced every mile (so there's only 3 each way).

I could swear they were every half mile out in the sticks when I drove through in 2020. Guess I remembered wrong. I know they are closer (0.2 or maybe even 0.1 miles?) in the Lincoln/Omaha areas.
Yeah, it's 1 mile starting out from WY, then goes to 0.5 miles somewhere around North Platte. I'm not exactly sure where the switchover is, and it could even be at I-76.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: mvak36 on February 01, 2022, 09:51:29 AM
https://omaha.com/news/state-and-regional/nebraska-lawmakers-consider-expanding-parts-of-highway-81-highway-20/article_67a62aba-82ab-11ec-a0fc-af1e417bf295.html

Quote
Nebraska lawmakers are weighing a bill that would widen stretches of U.S. Highway 81 and Nebraska Highway 20 through the state.

The Legislature's Transportation and Telecommunications Committee took up Legislative Bill 1274, a proposal from Sen. Mike Flood of Norfolk, during a hearing Monday.

The bill requires the Nebraska Department of Transportation to plan, design and purchase rights of way for portions of the two highways.

Flood, whose district includes Madison County and southern Pierce County, proposed widening the portion of Highway 81 that runs from York to Columbus, as well as the stretch from Norfolk to Yankton, South Dakota.

The proposal would expand Highway 81, which runs north and south through the state, from two lanes to four along those stretches.

The bill, Flood said, has the support of senators along the corridor.

It would also expand Nebraska Highway 20, which runs east and west through the state, between Highway 81 and the Iowa border to a four-lane divided highway.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: yakra on February 01, 2022, 11:07:18 AM
I'm going to assume that by "Nebraska Highway 20", they meant US20 rather than Nebraska Highway 2.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: J N Winkler on February 01, 2022, 01:12:23 PM
Quote from: yakra on February 01, 2022, 11:07:18 AMI'm going to assume that by "Nebraska Highway 20", they meant US 20 rather than Nebraska Highway 2.

I think that is a fair assumption.  The lengths of US 81 mentioned also appear to include all the segments that have not already been widened to four-lane divided in Nebraska.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: mvak36 on February 01, 2022, 01:17:15 PM
Quote from: yakra on February 01, 2022, 11:07:18 AM
I'm going to assume that by "Nebraska Highway 20", they meant US20 rather than Nebraska Highway 2.
Yes it is US20. I'm curious to see what will happen if this passes, specifically the US20 part because NE35 is a part of HPC 23 (https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/national_highway_system/high_priority_corridors/hpcor.cfm) from Norfolk to S. Sioux City. I know they were talking about expanding NE 35 in the past but that hasn't gone anywhere. And if they expand US 20, is widening still needed on NE35?
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: Rothman on February 01, 2022, 01:46:14 PM
Yeah, DOTs referring to US Routes as just "Route X" is fairly commonplace now, unfortunately.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: Great Lakes Roads on June 30, 2022, 05:48:02 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCdbi6mvZqI

Here's an updated video on the progress of the Lincoln South Beltway project.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: yakra on June 30, 2022, 09:44:24 PM
^ Pure daycent soundtrack, kid.
Last time I was in Nebraska I picked up a copy of Fila Brazillia live at Victoria (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFPpWgiz8aw) & Albert (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqKXzwpVl0k). Record store clerk suggested I dig on some Four Tet & DJ Kicks.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: The Ghostbuster on July 01, 2022, 02:02:08 PM
When the Lincoln Southern Beltway is completed, the Jerome and Betty Warner Memorial Highway will be a seemless express route from Lincoln to Nebraska City. Maybe Nebraska could also remove all remaining at-grade intersections along US 77 from the LSB to Interstate 80.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: yakra on July 03, 2022, 10:06:53 AM
https://journalstar.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/long-delayed-nebraska-expressway-program-moving-forward-but-not-fast-enough-for-some/article_01a8404c-61a8-5909-bb2e-9eabfa60ce01.html

This article from 2021 has a series of B&W photos of N-2 in Lincoln from 1966-1985.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: Route66Fan on July 05, 2022, 03:25:44 AM
Quote from: yakra on July 03, 2022, 10:06:53 AM
https://journalstar.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/long-delayed-nebraska-expressway-program-moving-forward-but-not-fast-enough-for-some/article_01a8404c-61a8-5909-bb2e-9eabfa60ce01.html

This article from 2021 has a series of B&W photos of N-2 in Lincoln from 1966-1985.
Article has a paywall.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: In_Correct on July 05, 2022, 04:33:59 AM

I Hate Paywall:

Quote

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EDITOR'S PICK ALERT TOP STORY
Long-delayed Nebraska expressway program moving forward, but not fast enough for some

(https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/journalstar.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/e/b3/eb33ef33-43f7-58d0-8ac1-46cb31c5ed4d/60c66f3e99812.image.jpg)

Paul Hammel Omaha World-Herald Jun 13, 2021 Updated Dec 8, 2021
Highway 30 past Columbus
A four-lane portion of U.S. 30 stretches from Columbus, but other sections remain two lanes despite the Nebraska Expressway System project being approved 33 years ago.

HANNAH SCHRODT, COLUMBUS TELEGRAM
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Paul Hammel Omaha World-Herald

00:00 — Intro

00:10 — Highway 77

01:00 — West Interchange

01:26 — Flyover Bridge

02:14 — Lincoln South Beltway Mainline

02:20 — 25th Street and Salt Creek

02:30 — Jamaica Trail North

02:38 — BNSF Railroad

02:26 — 27th Street and 38th Street

03:14 — 54th Street

03:23 — 68th Street

04:03 — 82nd Street

04:37 — 98th and Saltillo Road

05:19 — OPPD Railroad

05:29 — 120th Street

05:58 — Nebraska Highway 2

06:28 - Outro

When he was mayor of Columbus, there was one question Mike Moser could never answer from companies looking to locate in his east-central Nebraska city: When are the four-lane expressways to Columbus ever going to be completed?

Moser, now a state senator, has a notebook full of expected completion dates that have come and gone over the years.

The state's expressway program, launched in 1988, was designed to connect every Nebraska community larger than 15,000 people to an interstate with a four-lane, divided expressway. It was projected to be completed in 15 years.

But 33 years later, about 178 miles of the 600-mile system remain undone, including expressways sought by Columbus to link up with Fremont and Omaha, and to provide access to Interstate 80 at York.

(https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/journalstar.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/1/61/1614c41a-e97b-5457-b92c-3d028ec5830b/60c6274a57d8f.image.jpg)

Frustration is growing, especially in northeast Nebraska, where officials think they've been overlooked in completing expressways that would improve traffic safety and help businesses transport goods.

This spring, concerns sparked a concerted push by state senators and mayors from that region to accelerate progress. It was backed by a lobbying group, 4 Lanes 4 Nebraska, formed by area businesses and cities.

"We talk a lot about growing Nebraska but we don't see many hard policy tools to do that,"  said Norfolk Mayor Josh Moenning, who helped found the 4 Lanes 4 Nebraska group in 2015.

The result?

Contracts to begin work on a couple of key segments were signed recently by the Nebraska Department of Transportation, but the major legislation pushed by the northeast Nebraskans – to issue bonds to jump-start about $400 million worth of construction – was put off until next year.

Fremont Sen. Lynne Walz, who introduced the bonding bill, said she agreed to postpone debate on the measure after meeting with Gov. Pete Ricketts, who opposes bonding and wants to retain the state's conservative tradition of "paying as you go"  to finance road building and other state projects. Ricketts agreed to visit Columbus, Fremont and Norfolk to explain the state's plans.

Walz said there's a possibility more money might be coming Nebraska's way, either in the federal infrastructure bill being pushed by President Joe Biden or an $83 million request filed by U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, so it's worth waiting to see.

Saltillo Road set to reopen as South Beltway work shifts
"It kind of felt like we had a little leverage right now,"  she said. "We're not going to push (the bonding bill), but we're not going to let it go away."

Said Moser, "There's been a little burst of activity. Now, if we can keep that momentum going."

Several explanations have been given over the years about why the state's expressway plan has been delayed so long. At the top of the list has been a lack of funding, but there's also been a significant rise in construction costs, as well as delays for environmental impact studies, particularly on the U.S. 275 portion, where Ricketts has said work was delayed 12 to 18 months.

Plus, the state has other road-building priorities to deal with, as well as addressing several highway bridges and roads washed out by the devastating floods of 2019.

A spokeswoman for the State Department of Transportation acknowledged that expressway work hasn't moved as quickly as some want, but emphasized that progress has been made, particularly in recent months.

Looming large: On 11-mile construction site, bridge at end of South Beltway rises
The spokeswoman, Jeni Campana, added that additional money provided by the Build Nebraska Act wasn't available until eight years ago, and it can take that long, or longer, to get a project planned, contracted and underway. The act earmarked a quarter-cent of state sales taxes – about $60 million a year – for road construction, and it has been used on some expressway projects.

"Since last fall, we have celebrated work starting on the Heartland Expressway, Fremont Southeast Bypass, Lincoln South Beltway, and soon, U.S. 275 from Scribner to West Point and U.S. 75 from Murray to Plattsmouth,"  Campana said.

Norfolk Sen. Mike Flood said the start of construction between Scribner and West Point was "huge"  given the issues with wetland mitigation. He said he thinks the state is now "getting serious"  about completing the expressways.

But Fortenberry said he has to "grip the wheel tighter"  when he drives the two-lane portion of U.S. 275 in northeast Nebraska, an area he says has one of the highest concentrations of agricultural production in the nation.

"It needs enhancement,"  said Fortenberry, who is a member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee. Fortenberry made the $83 million request – which would cover 80% of the cost to finish the West Point to Stanton portion of the U.S. 275 expressway – his priority in the federal highway bill. Whether it is approved or not, or is folded into Biden's infrastructure bill, should be sorted out by the end of the year.

Walz and Moser say that bonding – an idea floated in the past – is the answer to speed up progress, and that it has been used frequently by cities and schools to get expensive projects done immediately. The state could borrow $400 million, and get several projects started at once, instead of doing it segment by segment, they maintain.

State moving forward with U.S. 77 bypass near Fremont
Moser said no one would build a house like the state is building its expressway system: by first building a basement, then a few years later, the first floor, and even later, the upper story.

He added that highway construction costs have risen 50% over the past two decades while the state has been trying to "get our ducks in a row,"  which is raising expenses that could be avoided by borrowing now and paying off the debt later.

"We're happy to see some progress. We just aren't where we need to be yet,"  Moser said.

But the governor, as well as the State Department of Transportation, both oppose the bonding bill. In a recent column about "putting the brakes on bad bills,"  Ricketts wrote that if the state issued $400 million in highway bonds, it would be paying them off until 2033 and that millions would be "wasted"  on interest payments instead of concrete.

The governor added that there is additional money available, about $25 million a year, after the Legislature passed, over his veto, a 6 cent-a-gallon increase in the state's gas tax in 2015.

"Taking on debt is forever; it never gets paid off,"  Ricketts wrote. Bonding would also jeopardize Nebraska's top rating as a fiscally responsible state that doesn't take on debt, he said.

Lawmakers did take one minor step this year by passing a bill, introduced by Moser, that requires the Nebraska Department of Transportation to provide more precise timetables on when segments of expressways will be completed.

Moser said that Columbus officials have heard many promises about when the expressways to the community would be completed. The first portion eastward from Columbus was finished in 2002, and the rest, he said, were supposed to be done soon after that, but have been delayed several times.

"If things aren't going to get done in a reasonable time, then the Legislature needs to step in,"  he said.

Progress report
Here is a look at recent progress on six segments of the expressway system in eastern Nebraska:

* U.S. 275, Scribner to West Point. An $83 million contract was signed earlier this month to build three segments providing an 18.5-mile link between the two communities. Work on the southern portion will begin next month, the northern portion in the fall, and in between in summer 2022. A contract to build a bypass around Scribner is to be awarded this fall.

* U.S. 275, West Point to near Stanton. The state has tried unsuccessfully so far to obtain federal money for a 16-mile segment from Stanton to Wisner.

* U.S. 30, Rogers to Fremont. The segment from Rogers to North Bend is expected to be completed this summer. Work on grading and installing culverts on the section from North Bend to Fremont is underway. A second phase, to pave four lanes, is anticipated to be contracted this fall, with construction to start in spring 2022.

* U.S. 77, Fremont to Wahoo. Preliminary planning is underway. It has not been scheduled for construction.

* U.S. 81, Columbus to York. Initial planning is about to start. It has not been scheduled for construction.

* U.S. 75, from Plattsmouth to Nebraska City. Work on the Plattsmouth to Murray segment is expected to begin soon. Planning for the rest of the expressway to Nebraska City has not yet begun.

(https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/journalstar.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/8/0e/80e44abf-d807-5cd0-a62e-cdb197f7bcb9/5e83b7d8140fa.image.jpg)

PhotosFiles: Highway 2 through Lincoln
Highway 2
Highway 2
Traffic on Highway 2 near 27th Street looking west toward the State Penitentiary in 1967.

(https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/journalstar.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/25/c258a0df-9298-5c51-aab4-e0180906695e/5e83b7d69a5e9.image.jpg)

Journal Star archives
Highway 2
Highway 2
This 1966 aerial photo looks north toward Highway 2, with  27th Street on the right.

(https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/journalstar.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/7/aa/7aaffe5f-3288-56e5-85cd-869ed4f115f0/5e83b7d6d8094.image.jpg)

Journal Star archives
Highway 2
Highway 2
A view from south of Highway 2 between 40th Street (left) and 48th Street looking north.

(https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/journalstar.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/1/44/14430c36-5c7b-5411-a3b9-a8163fab9f81/5e83b7d73dfcf.image.jpg)

Journal Star archives
Highway 2
Highway 2
40th Street (center) south of Highway 2 looking north in 1966.

(https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/journalstar.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/a/40/a4020554-f66c-548a-8ea9-6d962663e5fb/5e83b7d776770.image.jpg)

Journal Star archives
Highway 2
Highway 2
This 1966 aerial photo looking north shows Highway 2 bisecting 56th Street.

(https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/journalstar.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/1/0a/10a31474-d14d-5f05-8996-309d770c058f/5e83b7d75b1da.image.jpg)

Journal Star archives
Highway 2
Highway 2
Highway 2 near 48th Street looking west in 1967.

(https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/journalstar.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/59/c59096c0-a386-5660-8c99-efedfff8730d/5e83b7d7cec39.image.jpg)

Journal Star archives
Highway 2
Highway 2
Highway 2 looking west near Pine Lake Road in 1967. 70th Street is at the top of the hill.

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Journal Star archives
Highway 2
Highway 2
Motorists driving into Lincoln on Highway 2 to go to work provide evidence of the bedroom community concept that many small towns are accepting and nurturing. (Undated photo)

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Journal Star archives
Highway 2
Highway 2
This July 1979, photo shows major work being done at U.S. 77, 14th Street and Highway 2. This aerial photo looking northwest shows how an extension of 13th Street would intersect with Highway 2 in front of the State Department of Roads complex.

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Journal Star archives
Highway 2
Highway 2
The Rock Island railroad bridge over Highway 2 near 27th Street was a bottleneck that prevented widening of the highway to four lanes. But in 1983, negotiations between the Nebraska Department of Roads and the Rock Island Railroad bankruptcy trustee led to 1985 removal of the bridge. This photo looks to the west.

(https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/journalstar.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/a/f6/af6a81ea-e221-5b76-8aa2-91d40ea091b9/5e83b7d701e2b.image.jpg)

Journal Star archives
Highway 2
Highway 2
The longtime obstacle to the widening of Highway 2 between 24th and 38th streets was removed in May of 1985. Contractors lifted the abandoned Rock Island railroad bridge from its concrete abutments just east of 27th Street. The removal was part of a $2.4 million project to widen the 1.2-mile stretch to four lanes. A similar railroad bridge that spanned 27th Street just south of the highway was removed the same year.

(https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/journalstar.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/9/56/95689ffc-32f5-5147-897f-a964a8e3a00a/5e83b7d7eb70e.image.jpg)

Journal Star archives
Highway 2
Highway 2
Pioneers Boulevard (upper left) merges into Highway 2 in February of 1985. This photo is looking east.

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Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: mrose on July 05, 2022, 09:47:38 AM
I remember that bridge. My folks complained about it incessantly. It only came down about a year after we moved away.

It seems like all the Highway 2 upgrades over the years were about 5-10 years overdue by the time they actually happened.

Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: DandyDan on July 07, 2022, 06:34:29 AM
Just curious about what's going on in Fremont. I looked at Google Maps recently because I was in Omaha and planned to go up to Fremont one day (which didn't happen, because my AC went out in my car and we couldn't reschedule) and there appeared to be construction in southeast Fremont. Is that supposed to be a rerouted US 77?
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: mvak36 on July 07, 2022, 08:31:59 AM
Quote from: DandyDan on July 07, 2022, 06:34:29 AM
Just curious about what's going on in Fremont. I looked at Google Maps recently because I was in Omaha and planned to go up to Fremont one day (which didn't happen, because my AC went out in my car and we couldn't reschedule) and there appeared to be construction in southeast Fremont. Is that supposed to be a rerouted US 77?

Yes, they will reroute US77. Here's the latest project info that I could find: https://dot.nebraska.gov/projects/future-projects/fremont-southeast-beltway/

Fact Sheet (https://dot.nebraska.gov/media/113731/fremont-se-beltway-2020-fact-sheet-english.pdf)
Title: Nebraska
Post by: mvak36 on July 24, 2022, 08:25:44 PM
Interesting article today about the routing of I-80 through Omaha.

https://omaha.com/news/local/history/stu-pospisil-the-battle-to-bring-the-interstate-to-omaha/article_6588bf80-092f-11ed-842b-f381ac1a42d6.html

EDIT: I apologize if this thing shows that it is behind a paywall. It worked fine when I opened it in the private browsing on my laptop earlier.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: andy3175 on August 06, 2022, 12:11:24 PM
Quote from: mvak36 on July 24, 2022, 08:25:44 PM
Interesting article today about the routing of I-80 through Omaha.

https://omaha.com/news/local/history/stu-pospisil-the-battle-to-bring-the-interstate-to-omaha/article_6588bf80-092f-11ed-842b-f381ac1a42d6.html

EDIT: I apologize if this thing shows that it is behind a paywall. It worked fine when I opened it in the private browsing on my laptop earlier.
This paragraph caused me to reflect on whether Nebraska is the only state with no north south primary interstate in the lower 48:

QuoteNebraska State Engineer Wardner Scott early on recommended the route that stuck for I-80. It started with the U.S. Highway 6 corridor from the Missouri River to Lincoln, then U.S. 34 and Nebraska Hwy 2 from Lincoln to Grand Island and U.S. 30 from Grand Island to the Wyoming state line. He also unsuccessfully sought U.S. 81 as a north-south interstate (Nebraska remains the only state without one).

I can't think of another example of a state in the lower 48 with no primary north south interstate. But there are several with no primary east west interstate such as Delaware, Maine,  New Hampshire, and Vermont.

SM-S908U

Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: skluth on August 06, 2022, 02:11:23 PM
Quote from: andy3175 on August 06, 2022, 12:11:24 PM
Quote from: mvak36 on July 24, 2022, 08:25:44 PM
Interesting article today about the routing of I-80 through Omaha.

https://omaha.com/news/local/history/stu-pospisil-the-battle-to-bring-the-interstate-to-omaha/article_6588bf80-092f-11ed-842b-f381ac1a42d6.html

EDIT: I apologize if this thing shows that it is behind a paywall. It worked fine when I opened it in the private browsing on my laptop earlier.
This paragraph caused me to reflect on whether Nebraska is the only state with no north south primary interstate in the lower 48:

QuoteNebraska State Engineer Wardner Scott early on recommended the route that stuck for I-80. It started with the U.S. Highway 6 corridor from the Missouri River to Lincoln, then U.S. 34 and Nebraska Hwy 2 from Lincoln to Grand Island and U.S. 30 from Grand Island to the Wyoming state line. He also unsuccessfully sought U.S. 81 as a north-south interstate (Nebraska remains the only state without one).

I can't think of another example of a state in the lower 48 with no primary north south interstate. But there are several with no primary east west interstate such as Delaware, Maine,  New Hampshire, and Vermont.

SM-S908U

Wisconsin did not have one in the original 1956 design, but it now has three. I-43 was added to the system in 1981. I-39 and its ridiculously long concurrency in Wisconsin was added in 1992. The redundant I-41 was designated in 2012. I figure in another ten years Wisconsin will get bored again and designate a northern I-37 concurrent with US 53 north of Eau Claire just to annoy the rest of us.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: brad2971 on August 06, 2022, 04:00:23 PM
Quote from: mvak36 on July 24, 2022, 08:25:44 PM
Interesting article today about the routing of I-80 through Omaha.

https://omaha.com/news/local/history/stu-pospisil-the-battle-to-bring-the-interstate-to-omaha/article_6588bf80-092f-11ed-842b-f381ac1a42d6.html

EDIT: I apologize if this thing shows that it is behind a paywall. It worked fine when I opened it in the private browsing on my laptop earlier.

I was able to read it, especially the part where the author is confident that Omaha and Nebraska will likely not add interstate mileage. On the contrary; Nebraska DOT can easily make a request to FHWA to add an entire recently-completed freeway to the system. US275 from the east US30 interchange to L-28B, L-28B to 204th St, and US6 from 204th St to I-680 can, and should, be renumbered with one number: I-780. That whole stretch is interstate-quality freeway; what stops Nebraska DOT from making that request?
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: Revive 755 on August 06, 2022, 10:59:15 PM
^ I think it would be more likely for the Lincoln beltway to become either I-280 or I-880 when fully completed.  The way the beltway is/will be favored as the through route at the US 77 interchange and eventually at the Highway 2 interchange really makes me wonder if there is a plan for a single number for it.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: In_Correct on August 07, 2022, 05:30:49 PM

Just In Case:

https://omaha.com/news/local/history/stu-pospisil-the-battle-to-bring-the-interstate-to-omaha/article_6588bf80-092f-11ed-842b-f381ac1a42d6.html

Quote

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(https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/omaha.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/e/15/e150ea66-092f-11ed-ad8b-a3ce72bc0f84/62d9b08ca2809.image.jpg)

(https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/omaha.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/f/04/f04305f8-0930-11ed-abc6-ef6420a541f8/62d9b2533a1d7.image.jpg)

Johnny Rosenblatt was indignant.

"What Iowa is trying to do is to selfishly serve the purpose of a community of about 100,000 and detract from the welfare of a city (of) 300,000 people and a metropolitan area of more than 400,000,"  Omaha's mayor said in 1956. "Well, they won't get away with it."

If a couple of Iowa highway commissioners had gotten their way, how Interstate 80 was routed around Omaha could have been just that. Routed around Omaha. And Council Bluffs, too.

(https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/omaha.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/f/d8/fd85b6b0-b40f-11eb-8d7d-ffa476a0bc05/59fe593ca5265.image.jpg)

Stu Pospisil

The transcontinental highway could have gone north of both cities, cutting through the Loess Hills much closer to Council Bluffs, crossing the Missouri River on the Mormon Bridge and looping around Omaha to the north and west. Or had a commissioner from Sioux City prevailed, Iowa's western terminus for I-80 could have been more than 20 miles from where Nebraska wanted to link up.




It's interesting to recall how the interstate system could have been laid out in Omaha and think about how it could have changed traffic patterns. Beyond using the Interstate 680 corridor or a wider arc from Iowa, I-80 could have come in from Lincoln on a diagonal between Ralston and Papillion. Interstate 480 into downtown could have been a diagonal from 56th and L Streets.

The concept of a national system of interstate highways came to the fore while World War II was still being fought in 1944. All cities of 100,000 or more population were to be connected by the 40,000 miles of four- or six-lane roads.

Nebraska State Engineer Wardner Scott early on recommended the route that stuck for I-80. It started with the U.S. Highway 6 corridor from the Missouri River to Lincoln, then U.S. 34 and Nebraska Hwy 2 from Lincoln to Grand Island and U.S. 30 from Grand Island to the Wyoming state line. He also unsuccessfully sought U.S. 81 as a north-south interstate (Nebraska remains the only state without one).

Little happened – except for the state's formation of a turnpike authority that was told a toll road wasn't feasible unless Iowa also built one – until September 1955 when the U.S. Bureau of Public Roads released a map of authorized interstate main and connecting routes. Four were for the Omaha-Council Bluffs area.

The east-west main route was to come in from the southwest through South Omaha, use the South Omaha Bridge (since renamed Veterans Memorial) across the Missouri River and swing around Council Bluffs to the southwest and east. There also would be a north-south main route on the Iowa side of the river. The connecting routes were a southwest radial to run diagonally from downtown Omaha to connect with the interstate; and a bypass crossing north Omaha via the Mormon Bridge through the Loess Hills to connect with the main route near Weston in Pottawattamie County.

It took President Eisenhower's State of the Union address in 1956 to stir Congress to approve the Federal Aid Highway Act that June. Then the bickering between the states for linking the transcontinental four-lane began in earnest. While Nebraska was adamant about the route serving South Omaha and new industry in southwest Omaha, Iowa was looking out for Sioux City and wanted the main route, not the bypass, to intersect with the north-south interstate north of Council Bluffs.

Nebraska officials charged that Sioux City was trying to siphon Omaha Stockyards traffic – although such a route would have violated federal laws that required interstates to connect key cities and state capitals.

"It's going to be as far north as the Mormon Trail and perhaps farther north. We're going to push it up there to help the northern part of Iowa as much as we can,"  said John Butter, the chief engineer for the Iowa Highway Commission.

Butter wasn't pulling Nebraska's leg. One Iowa commissioner, Mel Graham of Audubon, proposed that the two interstates, known then as U.S. 6 and 75, intersect at Honey Creek. But what the commission approved on Aug. 29, 1956, was putting the interchange at Loveland, 23 miles north of South Omaha. Even that wasn't close enough to Sioux City for commissioner Chris Larsen. Looking out for his city's interests, Larsen would have liked it north of Missouri Valley.

The dispute lasted well over a year. Both options were built. Interstate 80 (the present numbering system began in 1957) split at Neola. Interstate 80N (later 680 and now 880) was built west to I-29 at Loveland and I-80 came into Council Bluffs on a southwest beeline.

Iowa finished I-80N first, partly because a new Missouri River bridge wasn't required. I-80 wasn't completed between Omaha and Council Bluffs until December 1972 – six years after I-80N – with the opening of the Spring Street bridge.

The linkup with Lincoln was much less contentious. The alignment was going to follow U.S. 6 to Melia Hill east of Ashland then continue northeast. A January 1955 State Highway Department wish list map for modernizing highways shows the Ralston-Papillion diagonal connecting with L Street at 56th Street at an intersection with a "Belt Line Highway"  that would have arced to the Mormon Bridge. But the subsequent federal Bureau of Public Roads alignment, with the interstate swinging to the east at 108th and L Streets and staying north of the Union Pacific main line, is what was built.

A brief digression. The 1955 "wish list"  produced several key roads – Nebraska Hwy 370 linking Bellevue and Papillion with Gretna, the extension of L Street from 84th Street to 132h Street and a new Industrial Road built to connect L Street with West Center Road for a new route for livestock trucks.

The Belt Line didn't make it off the wish list. Its southern leg, originally tagged the South Omaha Access Road, would have followed a Chicago & Northwestern Railroad branch line from 77th and Dodge but was deemed to run too close to the College of St. Mary campus. Its northern portion became the corridor for Omaha's western interstate loop.

Interstate 480's diagonal alignment died with the recommendation in October 1956 that four expressways radiate from a multi-level interchange north of 28th and Dodge Streets. I-480 became the south and east spokes. The North Freeway was originally meant to merge with 30th Street at Parker Street and a West Expressway was to follow the Dodge corridor to 85th Street but succumbed to neighborhoods aghast that it would cut through Dundee, Elmwood or Memorial Parks and Fairacres.

The first Omaha-to-Lincoln Interstate traffic was in August 1961 via I-280 (it was renumbered I-680 in the mid-1960s) that had been opened to West Dodge Road the previous summer. Several weeks later, I-80 was opened from the I-280 junction to 72nd Street. An extension to 42nd Street opened in September 1962.

A month later, I-480 opened to southbound traffic from Leavenworth Street. When I-480 was completed late in 1970, it was the only interstate linked to Iowa. I-80 had reached 24th Street and I-680 had been built to only to Nebraska 133 (Blair High Road).

Interstate 680 reached completion in 1975 with the opening of the companion span to the Mormon Bridge. Iowa already had renamed 80N to 680. And then it renamed it, to I-880, in the wake of the 2019 flooding stemming from confusion about which leg of 680 was closed, the one to Crescent (which was true) or the one to Loveland.

And for a short time, there was an I-580. From 1975-79, the North Freeway (controversial because it went through the heart of North Omaha) was on the interstate system before it was declassified to free up money to build the Storz Expressway to Eppley Airfield.

Omaha isn't likely to add interstate mileage. But much dust has settled on the 2010 study that recommended a beltway for the Elkhorn River valley. Anyone who takes an ever-increasingly congested Nebraska Hwy 31 from Elkhorn through Gretna desires a faster route to I-80.




Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: SD Mapman on September 09, 2022, 07:07:38 PM
Quote from: brad2971 on August 06, 2022, 04:00:23 PM
Quote from: mvak36 on July 24, 2022, 08:25:44 PM
Interesting article today about the routing of I-80 through Omaha.

https://omaha.com/news/local/history/stu-pospisil-the-battle-to-bring-the-interstate-to-omaha/article_6588bf80-092f-11ed-842b-f381ac1a42d6.html

EDIT: I apologize if this thing shows that it is behind a paywall. It worked fine when I opened it in the private browsing on my laptop earlier.

I was able to read it, especially the part where the author is confident that Omaha and Nebraska will likely not add interstate mileage. On the contrary; Nebraska DOT can easily make a request to FHWA to add an entire recently-completed freeway to the system. US275 from the east US30 interchange to L-28B, L-28B to 204th St, and US6 from 204th St to I-680 can, and should, be renumbered with one number: I-780. That whole stretch is interstate-quality freeway; what stops Nebraska DOT from making that request?
Probably that no one has pushed them to do it honestly. The local drivers just call it West Dodge in Omaha and probably don't notice the numbering jumps as you head toward Fremont.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: mrose on September 17, 2022, 01:25:14 AM
Latest Lincoln South Belt video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VO0qyOdZdCg
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: jtespi on September 19, 2022, 12:20:15 AM
Those are really cool update videos!

I like that they're using so many roundabouts, and not just regular roundabouts but teardrop-shaped ones. It should help cut down traffic congestion at exit ramps.
The teardrop shape is also gentler for through traffic and reduces conflicts by eliminating one location people could "make a U-turn." You can still make a U-turn but you just have to cross the bridge and use both roundabouts.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: Alps on September 20, 2022, 11:28:36 AM
Just noticed 24B is exit 248. Honorary member of exit equaling route number club.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: mrose on October 15, 2022, 07:44:37 AM
October beltway update. Coming along nicely. The new 120th St interchange is partially open; traffic from the Nebraska Parkway section of N-2 is now being diverted onto the beltway alignment feeding into old N-2 via two of the ramps. At the other end, nearly all the paving for the US 77 interchange appears to be finished or close. Some of the comments are suggesting the entire project may open ahead of schedule.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JETfXd9T6ek
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: zzcarp on October 15, 2022, 08:49:57 AM
Another great video. It looks like it could be open around Thanksgiving based on the progress shown.

And, did anyone else notice the music at the beginning sounded like a knockoff of the Halloween theme?
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: SD Mapman on October 15, 2022, 09:53:29 PM
Quote from: zzcarp on October 15, 2022, 08:49:57 AM
Another great video. It looks like it could be open around Thanksgiving based on the progress shown.
I'll check when I go down to my in-laws.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: Great Lakes Roads on November 04, 2022, 10:42:31 PM
Video of the Lincoln South Beltway project as of November 2022...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19QYwgxS1eo
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: mrose on November 05, 2022, 08:43:26 AM
Fully striped and everything. Some signage still needed of course, but I'm amazed at how far along this is now.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: J N Winkler on November 05, 2022, 05:13:11 PM
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.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: US71 on November 17, 2022, 11:47:59 AM
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/
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: 74/171FAN on November 17, 2022, 12:13:23 PM
Quote from: US71 on November 17, 2022, 11:47:59 AM
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?
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: mvak36 on November 17, 2022, 08:43:42 PM
Quote from: 74/171FAN on November 17, 2022, 12:13:23 PM
Quote from: US71 on November 17, 2022, 11:47:59 AM
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.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: mrose on November 18, 2022, 09:18:27 AM
I wonder if they will give the parkway a Business N-2 designation, or perhaps a link/spur number.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: zzcarp on November 18, 2022, 11:56:00 PM
Quote from: mrose on November 18, 2022, 09:18:27 AM
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.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: DandyDan on November 19, 2022, 07:25:14 AM
Quote from: zzcarp on November 18, 2022, 11:56:00 PM
Quote from: mrose on November 18, 2022, 09:18:27 AM
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.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: triplemultiplex on November 30, 2022, 12:33:06 PM
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.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: mrose on December 02, 2022, 07:17:05 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xizMxj4sqI&t=632s

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.

Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: yakra on December 04, 2022, 01:00:29 AM
Is L55W still signed?
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: zachary_amaryllis on December 04, 2022, 06:36:36 AM
Quote from: triplemultiplex on November 30, 2022, 12:33:06 PM
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".
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: Stephane Dumas on December 04, 2022, 05:42:57 PM
Quote from: zachary_amaryllis on December 04, 2022, 06:36:36 AM

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.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: zachary_amaryllis on December 04, 2022, 08:55:22 PM
Quote from: Stephane Dumas on December 04, 2022, 05:42:57 PM
Quote from: zachary_amaryllis on December 04, 2022, 06:36:36 AM

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.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: mvak36 on December 14, 2022, 04:18:31 PM
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!!!
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: mvak36 on February 15, 2023, 12:57:25 PM
https://www.wowt.com/2023/02/15/new-i-80-access-point-planning-process-western-sarpy-county/
Quote
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."
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: The Ghostbuster on February 15, 2023, 07:36:58 PM
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.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: J N Winkler on February 15, 2023, 08:14:34 PM
Quote from: The Ghostbuster on February 15, 2023, 07:36:58 PMIf 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.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: mvak36 on February 16, 2023, 11:23:34 AM
Quote from: J N Winkler on February 15, 2023, 08:14:34 PM
Quote from: The Ghostbuster on February 15, 2023, 07:36:58 PMIf 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.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: mvak36 on May 10, 2023, 10:36:38 AM
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

Quote
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.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: triplemultiplex on May 10, 2023, 11:10:08 AM
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?  :meh:
But it wouldn't be roadgeekery if something pedantic like that didn't rub me the wrong way. :P
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: skluth on May 14, 2023, 02:05:21 PM
Quote from: triplemultiplex on May 10, 2023, 11:10:08 AM
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?  :meh:
But it wouldn't be roadgeekery if something pedantic like that didn't rub me the wrong way. :P

A dumbbell interchange would be an example of a non-circular roundabout. Roundabouts can also be elliptical though some would argue that's pedantic.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: mvak36 on June 12, 2023, 02:41:32 PM
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
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: DandyDan on June 21, 2023, 03:12:18 AM
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.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: jtespi on July 01, 2023, 04:52:19 AM
Quote from: DandyDan on June 21, 2023, 03:12:18 AM
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 (https://goo.gl/maps/3iozG3Fep6B8epCr9) from May 2023 shows no exit signage was installed at that time.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: mvak36 on July 10, 2023, 10:14:46 AM
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

Quote

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.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: mvak36 on July 10, 2023, 10:50:10 AM
Quote from: mvak36 on July 10, 2023, 10:14:46 AM
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

Quote

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.

Other capital projects in the Five-year plan (https://dot.nebraska.gov/projects/publications/program-book-2024). Most of these are in the 2025-2029 timeframe so hopefully they will still be on there over the next couple of years.

District 1
Lincoln West Beltway - $34.791 million
Wahoo to Fremont South (4 lane US77) - $113 million

District 2
Relinquishment of the Old US30 between North Bend and Fremont (I couldn't find any articles about it but maybe the 4-lane US30 between Fremont and Columbus is finally close to being completed) - FY2024 $11.438 million

District 3
Various projects on US275 to widen the remaining sections between Norfolk and Fremont - $195.112 million

District 4
Hastings Southeast - 35.902 million
York-Columbus (4-lane expansion on US81) - $287 million

District 5
Minatare-US385 (4-lane expansion on US26) - $94.673 million

District 6
Super 2 on US83 in Lincoln county - FY2024 $17.186 million

District 7
Super 2 on US83 in Frontier county - $17.406 million
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: SD Mapman on July 10, 2023, 09:31:20 PM
Quote from: jtespi on July 01, 2023, 04:52:19 AM
Quote from: DandyDan on June 21, 2023, 03:12:18 AM
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 (https://goo.gl/maps/3iozG3Fep6B8epCr9) from May 2023 shows no exit signage was installed at that time.
It was open when I came back up from my in-laws in the middle of June, signage at the south end directed US 77 onto the beltway.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: mrose on July 12, 2023, 11:32:36 AM
Quote from: mvak36 on July 10, 2023, 10:50:10 AM
Other capital projects in the Five-year plan (https://dot.nebraska.gov/projects/publications/program-book-2024). Most of these are in the 2025-2029 timeframe so hopefully they will still be on there over the next couple of years.

District 1
Lincoln West Beltway - $34.791 million

I assume this will be removing the remaining at-grades between I-80 and new Neb 2?
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: zzcarp on July 12, 2023, 12:12:40 PM
Quote from: mrose on July 12, 2023, 11:32:36 AM
Quote from: mvak36 on July 10, 2023, 10:50:10 AM
Other capital projects in the Five-year plan (https://dot.nebraska.gov/projects/publications/program-book-2024). Most of these are in the 2025-2029 timeframe so hopefully they will still be on there over the next couple of years.

District 1
Lincoln West Beltway - $34.791 million

I assume this will be removing the remaining at-grades between I-80 and new Neb 2?

Likely. Per the GIS map at the above Five Year Plan link, it's listed as an intersection improvement. But at nearly $35 million, that sounds like an interchange to me.

QuoteProgram Book Segments: Lincoln West Beltway
Hwy. No.   077
Begin Ref. Post   54.97
End Ref. Post   59.58
County   Lancaster
Control No.   12552A
Project No.   S-77-2(1074)
Location   Lincoln West Beltway
Length (MI.)   4.61
Type of Improvement   Intersection
Est. Cost ($1,000)   34,791
Program Year   2025-2029
District   1
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: mvak36 on July 19, 2023, 09:26:03 AM
Quote from: zzcarp on July 12, 2023, 12:12:40 PM
Quote from: mrose on July 12, 2023, 11:32:36 AM
Quote from: mvak36 on July 10, 2023, 10:50:10 AM
Other capital projects in the Five-year plan (https://dot.nebraska.gov/projects/publications/program-book-2024). Most of these are in the 2025-2029 timeframe so hopefully they will still be on there over the next couple of years.

District 1
Lincoln West Beltway - $34.791 million

I assume this will be removing the remaining at-grades between I-80 and new Neb 2?

Likely. Per the GIS map at the above Five Year Plan link, it's listed as an intersection improvement. But at nearly $35 million, that sounds like an interchange to me.

QuoteProgram Book Segments: Lincoln West Beltway
Hwy. No.   077
Begin Ref. Post   54.97
End Ref. Post   59.58
County   Lancaster
Control No.   12552A
Project No.   S-77-2(1074)
Location   Lincoln West Beltway
Length (MI.)   4.61
Type of Improvement   Intersection
Est. Cost ($1,000)   34,791
Program Year   2025-2029
District   1

Here is a site describing the work for the West beltway (I don't think the site has been updated in a while): https://dot.nebraska.gov/projects/bna/first-10/fy-2020-2023/lincoln-west-beltway/
Quote
Proposed Construction:

The project involves upgrading existing US-77 to freeway standards from Saltillo Road to south of Van Dorn Street. This will include construction of a new interchange at the intersection of US-77 and Warlick Blvd.; construction of a new interchange at the intersection of US-77 and Pioneers Blvd.; and closing of the existing intersections at US-77 and Yankee Hill Road and at US-77 and Old Cheney Road. The work at the Warlick Interchange will include 1.06 miles of pavement reconstruction along Warlick Blvd./West Denton Road from Folsom Street to the Salt Creek Bridge. The work at the Pioneers Interchange will include 0.63 miles of pavement construction along Pioneers Blvd. from approximately 1000 feet west of Folsom Street to 300 feet west of South 1st Street.

Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: rte66man on July 19, 2023, 02:05:01 PM
New Fremont Bypass is now open.

https://www.ketv.com/article/nebraska-new-fremont-beltway-open-traffic/44578149#
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: roadman65 on September 13, 2023, 08:15:54 AM
I saw that US 75 was closed yesterday between NE 8 and US 73. Had you detoured onto NE 8 WB using erroneous state shield detour signs, but stayed on it instead driving it westbound to Chester, NE before heading back into Kansas.  Only encountered two stoplights as two bridges were being replaced and temporary signals were installed at those two sites.  Otherwise wouldn’t have experienced any stoplights on NE 8.

I heard Nebraska typically uses horizontal signals like TX and NM uses, but would have never known it as the entire southern border counties were very rural with rolling hills of empty other than occasional corn crops.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: SD Mapman on September 14, 2023, 08:22:12 AM
Quote from: roadman65 on September 13, 2023, 08:15:54 AM
I saw that US 75 was closed yesterday between NE 8 and US 73. Had you detoured onto NE 8 WB using erroneous state shield detour signs, but stayed on it instead driving it westbound to Chester, NE before heading back into Kansas.  Only encountered two stoplights as two bridges were being replaced and temporary signals were installed at those two sites.  Otherwise wouldn't have experienced any stoplights on NE 8.

I heard Nebraska typically uses horizontal signals like TX and NM uses, but would have never known it as the entire southern border counties were very rural with rolling hills of empty other than occasional corn crops.

If I remember right Falls City has the horizontal stoplights so there's that... some places they're switching to vertical signals.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: roadman65 on September 18, 2023, 06:28:36 PM
I found this odd set up.  As usually Nebraska uses diagram junction signs, this is the typical other states way with the JCT header. 

I'm guessing it has to do with space limitations here as a diagram would be too big to use.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53197220864_862ab45ca3_k.jpg)
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: dvferyance on September 18, 2023, 06:37:02 PM
Quote from: roadman65 on September 13, 2023, 08:15:54 AM
I saw that US 75 was closed yesterday between NE 8 and US 73. Had you detoured onto NE 8 WB using erroneous state shield detour signs, but stayed on it instead driving it westbound to Chester, NE before heading back into Kansas.  Only encountered two stoplights as two bridges were being replaced and temporary signals were installed at those two sites.  Otherwise wouldn't have experienced any stoplights on NE 8.

I heard Nebraska typically uses horizontal signals like TX and NM uses, but would have never known it as the entire southern border counties were very rural with rolling hills of empty other than occasional corn crops.
The more populated areas in the east are vertical like Lincoln and Omaha but it is true out west it is all horizontal. Not sure about the areas east but away from I-80.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: mrose on September 21, 2023, 10:09:21 AM
Lincoln was horizontal signals forever and ever until maybe the last 5-10 years or so. I haven't been back there and seen them in the years since, but I honestly have trouble picturing them any other way. That was always one of those things that reminded me I was there.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: Stephane Dumas on September 23, 2023, 09:32:42 PM
The new US-77 Freemont bypass is now uploaded on GSV. https://maps.app.goo.gl/PYnoB7uF31snBAMu6
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: roadman65 on November 21, 2023, 08:02:37 AM
I noticed that in the shield for Nebraska state routes, the covered wagons are not being pulled by horses. Instead it appears to be some sort of cattle instead of usual animals pulling those sort of buggies.

Does anyone know the reasoning to the history to the shield's design. Wiki says it's based on artist Robert Cochran back in the 20's to focus on the state's history, but Wiki is jot creditable as far as facts as it's made where anyone can post or repost and has no fact checkers to check the accuracy of its articles.

I think next to the Sunflower of Kansas, the Nebraska shield is quite interesting in design. I actually like the covered wagon on them as it's fitting for such a state in part of the Great Plains where those were the first transport vehicles prior to our autos of today.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: Rothman on November 21, 2023, 09:19:27 AM
Quote from: roadman65 on November 21, 2023, 08:02:37 AM
I noticed that in the shield for Nebraska state routes, the covered wagons are not being pulled by horses. Instead it appears to be some sort of cattle instead of usual animals pulling those sort of buggies.

Does anyone know the reasoning to the history to the shield's design. Wiki says it's based on artist Robert Cochran back in the 20's to focus on the state's history, but Wiki is jot creditable as far as facts as it's made where anyone can post or repost and has no fact checkers to check the accuracy of its articles.

I think next to the Sunflower of Kansas, the Nebraska shield is quite interesting in design. I actually like the covered wagon on them as it's fitting for such a state in part of the Great Plains where those were the first transport vehicles prior to our autos of today.
Surely you have heard of oxen?
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: J N Winkler on November 21, 2023, 10:22:12 AM
Quote from: roadman65 on November 21, 2023, 08:02:37 AMI noticed that in the shield for Nebraska state routes, the covered wagons are not being pulled by horses. Instead it appears to be some sort of cattle instead of usual animals pulling those sort of buggies.

It is (as Rothman alludes) a Conestoga wagon being hauled by oxen, and reflects the fact that the Oregon/California Trail followed the Platte River for hundreds of miles in what is now Nebraska.

Quote from: roadman65 on November 21, 2023, 08:02:37 AMWiki says it's based on artist Robert Cochran back in the 20's to focus on the state's history, but Wiki is not creditable as far as facts as it's made where anyone can post or repost and has no fact checkers to check the accuracy of its articles.

Though he designed the pioneer wagon silhouette that has been used on the state route marker in some form since (IIRC) the 1920's, Cochran (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Leroy_Cochran) wasn't known primarily as an artist--he was chief engineer of the Department of Roads and Irrigation ("Department of Ruts and Irritation" to its detractors) and also, for a time, governor.

While Wikipedia does allow anyone to create an account and edit, and also permits anonymous (IP) edits, there is a degree of article curation and page patrolling, and it is generally trustworthy to the extent that information is cited to reliable sources.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: JayhawkCO on November 21, 2023, 10:25:56 AM
Quote from: Rothman on November 21, 2023, 09:19:27 AM
Quote from: roadman65 on November 21, 2023, 08:02:37 AM
I noticed that in the shield for Nebraska state routes, the covered wagons are not being pulled by horses. Instead it appears to be some sort of cattle instead of usual animals pulling those sort of buggies.

Does anyone know the reasoning to the history to the shield's design. Wiki says it's based on artist Robert Cochran back in the 20's to focus on the state's history, but Wiki is jot creditable as far as facts as it's made where anyone can post or repost and has no fact checkers to check the accuracy of its articles.

I think next to the Sunflower of Kansas, the Nebraska shield is quite interesting in design. I actually like the covered wagon on them as it's fitting for such a state in part of the Great Plains where those were the first transport vehicles prior to our autos of today.
Surely you have heard of oxen?

Or played video games in the late 80's where your little brother died of typhoid?
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: roadman65 on November 21, 2023, 10:26:03 AM
Quote from: Rothman on November 21, 2023, 09:19:27 AM
Quote from: roadman65 on November 21, 2023, 08:02:37 AM
I noticed that in the shield for Nebraska state routes, the covered wagons are not being pulled by horses. Instead it appears to be some sort of cattle instead of usual animals pulling those sort of buggies.

Does anyone know the reasoning to the history to the shield's design. Wiki says it's based on artist Robert Cochran back in the 20's to focus on the state's history, but Wiki is jot creditable as far as facts as it's made where anyone can post or repost and has no fact checkers to check the accuracy of its articles.

I think next to the Sunflower of Kansas, the Nebraska shield is quite interesting in design. I actually like the covered wagon on them as it's fitting for such a state in part of the Great Plains where those were the first transport vehicles prior to our autos of today.
Surely you have heard of oxen?

I was going to say oxen, but felt more comfortable being more ambiguous just in case I'm wrong as some users ( not saying you) will love to point that out as we are AA Roads where users can get into the most heated arguments of any given topic.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: J N Winkler on November 21, 2023, 10:33:40 AM
George Koster's internal history of the then Department of Roads (1997) (https://dot.nebraska.gov/media/40hco4fl/history-general.pdf) notes that Cochran designed the pioneer wagon silhouette in 1926.  He had originally planned to use the Plains bison as the basis, but Manitoba got there first.

Cochran was also the longest-serving agency head (11 years and 4 months, from March 1923 to July 1934, and again for 11 months, from January to December 1959) as of 1997, when Koster wrote.  I suspect that record still stands.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: triplemultiplex on December 01, 2023, 02:01:25 PM
Quote from: JayhawkCO on November 21, 2023, 10:25:56 AM
Or played video games in the late 80's where your little brother died of typhoid?
Yeah clearly someone has never lost their oxen while crossing the Platte River. :-D
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: Scott5114 on December 01, 2023, 02:23:13 PM
Quote from: roadman65 on November 21, 2023, 08:02:37 AM
Does anyone know the reasoning to the history to the shield's design. Wiki says it's based on artist Robert Cochran back in the 20's to focus on the state's history, but Wiki is jot creditable as far as facts as it's made where anyone can post or repost and has no fact checkers to check the accuracy of its articles.

Which wiki? AARoads Wiki has at least one roadgeek fact-checking everything newly posted.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: DandyDan on December 02, 2023, 07:38:04 AM
Quote from: roadman65 on September 18, 2023, 06:28:36 PM
I found this odd set up.  As usually Nebraska uses diagram junction signs, this is the typical other states way with the JCT header. 

I'm guessing it has to do with space limitations here as a diagram would be too big to use.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53197220864_862ab45ca3_k.jpg)
I was always of the belief the Nebraska diagramatic highway intersection sign was primarily for intersections in rural areas. Then again, I recall seeing some rural intersections without one, usually when a spur route is involved.
Title: Re: Nebraska
Post by: 74/171FAN on December 27, 2023, 07:41:16 AM
Possibly should be in the I-80 reroute thread..., but I am really only posting this for the erroneous thumbnail.