The Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT) recently celebrated opening the $352 million Lincoln South Beltway, a project that’s been in the works since discussions began in the 1960s.
It is the largest and one of the most complex projects in NDOT’s history.
The 11-mile project connects U.S. Highway 77 and Nebraska Highway 2. The four-lane, east-west beltway will reduce congestion on Highway 2 through Lincoln and improve regional mobility.
Three pieces of legislation provided the funding necessary to accelerate the completion of the Lincoln South Beltway.
In 2011, following the passage of the Build Nebraska Act, NDOT partnered with the U.S. Department of Transportation, Lancaster County, and the City of Lincoln to secure funding and finalize the project.
The Transportation Innovation Act of 2016 provided $450 million to accelerate expressway construction and investments in infrastructure projects statewide.
LB 616 authorized the state in 2019 to structure certain highway construction projects as “build-finance” projects to speed up construction.
The U.S. Department of Transportation also awarded NDOT a $25 million Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery grant in 2018. NDOT used the funding to accelerate the construction of the project and allow it to be built over three years but paid for over eight.