Spring will mean more road work in Sidney

Another busy road construction season will begin in Sidney this spring, as soon as weather allows.

The $6 million Toledo St. expansion, which will extend the current road to the east and is in the final design phase, will be bid out in the early spring. An expansion to the west will follow at a later time. The city council held multiple discussions in 2013 about renaming Toledo St. and have not yet come to a final decision on the matter.

The Greenwood Road reconstruction and expansion is in the final design phase, as well, and will also be bid out in the spring. Work on a major drainage culvert on Greenwood Road will also move forward this year.

Planned work on Fort Sidney Road is already bid out and a contractor has been hired. The mill and overlay of Fort Sidney road from highway 30 to 11th Avenue is set to begin when weather allows. Part of this construction will involve replacing the Fort Sidney Road bridge at a cost of around $750,000. The bridge is approximately 70 to 80 years old.

The 10th Ave. project from the BSNF tracks to Illinois is bid out with a contractor hired and will begin in spring. This portion of the street will be completely rebuilt, from substructure to surfacing.

Additional streets projects to come which will most likely be bid out in spring include expansion of streets in the Interstate 80 area to accommodate upcoming developments, as well as streets in the Cabela's corporate campus expansion. Also most likely to start construction this year are the streets for the first phase of The Ranch or the Cabela's housing subdivision in the east Sidney development.

All of the new subdivision expansions will include water, sanitary sewer, electrical and storm water extension or implementation.

The street department budget for this fiscal year is around $8.7 million but the city accesses various types of aid for many of its streets projects.