I spotted this article of the Lincoln Journal-Star via Tollroadnews.
http://tollroadsnews.com/news/daily-news-brief-july-8-2015#planb
http://journalstar.com/news/state-and-regional/nebraska/major-nebraska-work-included-in-m-highway-plan/article_c7a973c1-c43f-5b36-b1f6-d1e9ab56ea73.html
Heh. I think they're focusing on the more urban freeways, but if they go down the same road as Pennsylvania in trying to toll I-80, that'd be somewhat amusing.
Quote from: Rothman on July 08, 2015, 11:20:29 AM
Heh. I think they're focusing on the more urban freeways, but if they go down the same road as Pennsylvania in trying to toll I-80, that'd be somewhat amusing.
I think that tolls would work in the eastern half of the state, which is more populated, and especially around Lincoln and Omaha. The rest, not so much.
Quote from: Henry on July 08, 2015, 11:54:10 AM
Quote from: Rothman on July 08, 2015, 11:20:29 AM
Heh. I think they're focusing on the more urban freeways, but if they go down the same road as Pennsylvania in trying to toll I-80, that'd be somewhat amusing.
I think that tolls would work in the eastern half of the state, which is more populated, and especially around Lincoln and Omaha. The rest, not so much.
I hope they do all of I-80. It'd be great news for I-70 in Kansas.
The only places toll roads might make since are around Lincoln and Omaha.
I-80? I'd put one tollbooth on I-76.
Seriously though, Wyoming is way harder to shunpike and they found a few years ago that it wouldn't work. Nebraska has good quality parallel highway next to b all of I-80, so I don't get how they'd offset the loss in federal revenue.
https://www.dot.state.wy.us/home/planning_projects/studies_plans/I-80_tolling_study.html
Quote from: corco on July 08, 2015, 03:49:42 PM
I-80? I'd put one tollbooth on I-76.
Seriously though, Wyoming is way harder to shunpike and they found a few years ago that it wouldn't work. Nebraska has good quality parallel highway next to b all of I-80, so I don't get how they'd offset the loss in federal revenue.
https://www.dot.state.wy.us/home/planning_projects/studies_plans/I-80_tolling_study.html
And it's easy to see why, because the Interstates out west don't have any adequate surface road companion like their eastern counterparts do. (And Business Loops don't count.)
The only realistic road they could build as a toll road in Nebraska now would be the Lincoln south and east beltways. And then I wonder whether they would ever get used.
^ The South Beltway would probably get some use still if tolled at a reasonable rate since it's part of the I-29/NE 2/I-80 trucking corridor. The East Beltway I would doubt at this time, maybe when the eastern edge of linking starts getting closer.
I wonder if they are also considering this to start part of the Omaha Beltway?
I'm thinking the east beltway won't happen for many, many years after the south beltway. Lincoln has always been sprawling at a much faster rate south than it has to the east. The vast majority of the time I've spent in Lincoln since childhood has been spent on the eastern edges of town, and I'm really surprised at how little growth there has been in that direction. The last time I was there was about two months ago and I was amazed that much of 98th Street and some other roads around it still haven't even been paved, considering that 84th is now a major four-lane N/S arterial with a lot of development in the last 10-20 years.
I'm a little surprised the east beltway corridor isn't a little bit closer to the edge of town. At this point it doesn't seem like it would be much quicker than the old tried and true method of taking 84th up to Cornhusker (US 6) to access I-80 East from East Lincoln, which is the way I've been doing it my whole life. To go all the way out somewhere in the vicinity of 128th St or wherever to pick it up seems like a bit of a slog.
The south beltway is much more needed than the east beltway, mainly to get the truck traffic off of Highway 2. I can't really think of any major need for the east beltway. I still use 84th Street to Highway 6 to get out to I-80 East. Even the north part of 84th still is undeveloped, though it's getting out that way slowly. I remember when there was nothing once you got past Vine Street out that way, now there is development all the way to Wal-Mart north of Adams. 98th still doesn't even exist between A and O, but there's recently been talk of building it.