NEBRASKA – A segment of Interstate 80 in Nebraska is being renovated.
According to a news release, the state received $21.2 million from a Infrastructure for Rebuilding America grant.
This will fund a structure allocation on I-80 in Buffalo County between Odessa and Kearney.
The task will remove nine miles of the existing roadway and upgrade it with new resurfacing and durable concrete shoulders designed to cope with heavy traffic and excessive weather conditions. This will also include the removal and upgrade of a rural two-lane I-bridge. -80.
Gov. Jim Pillen said it would hurt Nebraska’s economy.
“I-80 is the busiest freight lounge in Nebraska, and freight traffic is only increasing,” Pilen said. “When this task is completed, our economy in the core component of the state will help ensure that our transportation formula provides smart and broad access to primary cities and distribution centers.
The press claims that I-80 supports more than 22,000 cars each day and that number is expected to increase in the coming years. It is predicted that until 2045, it will ship around 623 million tons per year, valued at $404 billion.
The estimated charge for the assignment is $35. 3 million. The remainder will be funded through investments from the National Highway Performance Program, the Federal Highway Administration, and through state transportation funds.
U. S. Sen. Pete Ricketts said in a statement that he helped secure the investment by sending a letter of assistance for the allocation to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
Construction is set to begin in the spring of 2026 and is expected to be finished by the end of 2027.