Soon, I will gather with state and local officials to celebrate the opening of the Lincoln South Beltway.  This 11-mile, four lane freeway connects U.S. Highway 77 to the Nebraska Highway (N-2).  It’s expected to divert over 75% of the truck traffic to the new high-speed facility, saving significant travel time and bringing much needed relief to a congested thoroughfare through the city of Lincoln.  This project will also improve safety and regional connectivity.  Whether driving their kids to school, commuting to work, or delivering essential goods through our region, all of Nebraska will benefit from this 21^st century infrastructure.  Its opening was a priority for my administration, and I am happy to say that we have delivered on this monumental milestone that has been decades in the making.  It is the most complex project in Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT) history.

The opening of the Lincoln South Beltway is just the latest example of NDOT delivering for Nebraskans in recent years.  Under the leadership of Director John Selmer (and Director Kyle Schneweis before him), NDOT teammates have streamlined processes, improved services, and completed projects ahead of schedule — which is a big reason why Nebraska now ranks ninth in the nation for road quality, according to U.S. News and World Report.

Of course, our focus on connecting Nebraska extends far beyond just improving our roads.  Below are a few changes we’ve made to modernize infrastructure across our state:

• Historic Investments in Infrastructure:  In 2016, I signed the Transportation Innovation Act (TIA) into law.  This was priority legislation for my administration.  The TIA accelerated the completion of highway improvement projects, including crucial parts of Nebraska’s Expressway System.  The TIA also provided additional funding for the County Bridge Match Program and the Economic Opportunity Fund Program, both of which supercharged vital transportation improvements across the state.  And this historic legislation will allow us to finish projects like the Lincoln South Beltway ahead of schedule, too.

• Streamlining Services:  In 2017, we merged the Nebraska Department of Roads with the Nebraska Department of Aeronautics to become the Nebraska Department of Transportation.  This merger allowed us to streamline services and focus on enhancing both runways and roads while cutting administrative costs.  We also updated the state’s roads standards to modernize requirements for new construction and preservation of state highways, county roads, and municipal streets.

• Assuming NEPA Assignment from Federal Agencies:  In 2018, we signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to assume federal National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) assignment.  Instead of waiting on federal bureaucracy,  NDOT is able to avoid a lot of federal red tape and delays by approving certain NEPA documents, which represent about 95% of Nebraska’s projects.  Since signing the MOU, we have approved nearly 700 NEPA documents, which has streamlined the environmental review process and expedited project delivery in Nebraska while maintaining proper standards.

• Continued Funding for State Transportation Projects:  This year, we announced $650 million in projects slated for construction across Nebraska for Fiscal Year 2023.

Our focus on bringing Nebraska’s infrastructure into the 21^st century has paid off time and again.  Just look at the 2019 floods — the most widespread natural disaster in Nebraska’s history — when hundreds of miles of roadways and dozens of bridges were left decimated and over a third of the state’s 10,000 miles of highway were closed.

NDOT worked with FHWA, Hawkins Construction, and other industry partners to design, repair, and rebuild the state’s infrastructure to get Nebraska moving again.  They were able to open 99% of closed highways within 30 days to reconnect our communities. In just eleven months, NDOT restored 200 miles of roadway and 27 bridges through over 80 emergency relief projects.  This was all in addition to the State’s traditional construction projects. 

Despite the supply chain and workforce issues that occurred during the Covid-19 pandemic, NDOT has accelerated the delivery of multiple construction projects in the last few years, too.  For example, the Lincoln South Beltway has taken three years to complete instead of a decade.  Its early completion was due in large part to the passage of Senator Hilgers’ LB 616 in 2019, which authorized the state to structure certain highway construction projects as “build-finance” projects.  Highway construction projects with a payment schedule exceeding the date of completion are now exempt from paying contractor interest, saving the state millions of dollars in inflation costs and speeding up construction on key projects like the Lincoln South Beltway. 

The Heartland Expressway from L62A to Alliance is also now open to traffic, and we have completed the southern half of the Super 2 corridor on Highway 83 from McCook to North Platte.  We anticipate its next segment to be constructed in 2023.  Several other projects that will be completed in the near future include the Fremont Southeast Beltway (will be open in 2023); US-75 from Murray to Plattsmouth (the full 4-lane facility is to be completed in 2024); and the expansion of Highway 275 connecting Nebraska’s Northeast region to I-80 (the Scribner - West Point segment is slated to be complete in 2024).

NDOT has undergone big changes during my administration to better serve its customers: The people of Nebraska.  I’m proud to share the progress that’s made possible this week’s opening of the Lincoln South Beltway.  And I look forward to NDOT’s continued excellence when it comes to connecting people across our state through top-notch, 21^st century infrastructure.

If you have any questions about NDOT’s work during my administration, or if you would like to learn more about their ongoing projects, please visit www.dot.nebraska.gov.  You can also email me at [email protected] or call 402-471-2244.