Nebraska drivers may need to pack an extra dose of patience when they hit the road this summer.
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. 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. 30 to four lanes from U.S. 281 west through Grand Island for 3.7 miles, a $45.7 million project.
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The Nebraska Department of Transportation summarized those and other projects in its just-released Surface Transportation Program book.
The book provides information on projects that will be let to bid during the fiscal year that started this month, as well as those planned for fiscal years 2025 through 2029. It also shows projects that were started in the last fiscal year but are carrying over into the current one.
Transportation Director Vicki Kramer said the projects described “address statewide asset preservation, modernization, capacity, equity and safety improvements to provide the best possible transportation system for the movement of people and goods.”
She said changes at the state and federal level could speed up construction efforts. Those include approval for the state to issue up to $450 million worth of bonds and the extension of the Build Nebraska Act through 2042.
Under the Build Nebraska Act, passed in 2011, the state earmarks a small slice of state sales taxes to high-priority state and local roads projects. The act provides about $90 million in revenue annually, with about $13.5 million of the total going for local roads and streets.
The state’s top priority under the act has been completing the long-planned expressway system and building federally designated high-priority corridors. The U.S. 30 expansion is a Build Nebraska project.
The bonding authority, passed as part of LB727, represents a departure from Nebraska’s previous pay-as-you-go policy. The bonds are to be used to accelerate Build Nebraska projects. Under the new law, bonds can only be issued through June 30, 2029.
Kramer said the department will be evaluating how the new funding options could affect construction schedules for complex and high-cost projects, such as interstate and expressway expansion, grade separation viaducts and large bridge replacements.
Gas taxes provide the bulk of state funds used for road building and maintenance, with the second-largest total coming from sales taxes on motor vehicles.
Nebraska raised the gas tax in 2015 and has used the resulting revenue to speed up improvements in the state highway system, repair and replace county road bridges and pay for road work related to economic development. That money is paying for the U.S. 6 and 192nd Street interchange.
On the federal level, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act has provided more funding to the state. Federal highway dollars for Nebraska jumped from $480 million in fiscal year 2021 to $505 million in the fiscal year that ended June 30.