Construction begins on Highway 30; Expected to slow traffic 'quite a bit'

More road construction started in the Sidney area last week.

The state's Sidney West project opened on Highway 30 at the west edge of Sidney and extends eight miles west.

The project will begin with repair of the concrete pavement underneath the road and will end with replacement of the asphalt on top. The Nebraska department of roads is hoping to complete the project by sometime this fall, said Maryanne Jacobs, project manager with the Nebraska Department of Roads.

This project will be an inconvenience to the 1,400 vehicles per day which travel on Highway 30, Jacobs said. It may also narrow lanes for the cars taking part in the Lincoln Highway Centennial tour, slated to cruise through Sidney on June 29.

"Traffic is maintained with a flagger and a pilot vehicle," she said. "It will slow down traffic quite a bit."

The cost of the project is expected to be $2.8 million and will remain that amount there are any unexpected issues. The project is under the helm of Werner construction out of Hastings.

This project links with construction on Highway 19, which is currently being widened and resurfaced between the Colorado state line and Highway 30 at an estimated cost of $4.2 million

It's just a coincidence that so much construction is going on around Sidney at the same time, said Doug Hoevet, district construction engineer for the state of Nebraska. The state uses computer programs and analytical data on road conditions to decide what roads projects get completed in what order.

"The nice thing is that basically once they get completed, they should be in good condition for a while," Hoevet said.

This state project on highway 30 will be going on at the same time as the city project on Illinois between 13th and 14th avenues. The Illinois project begins at the end of the month and will involve removing all the pavement, curbs, gutters and sidewalks and replacing the roadway with concrete pavement.