Central City water tower, (Brian Neben, Central Nebraska Today)
CENTRAL CITY — The Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT) will hold a public hearing regarding the preliminary design and draft Environmental Assessment (EA) for the construction of a viaduct in Central City.
- DATE: Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024
- TIME: 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.
- LOCATION: Performing Arts Center, Central City High School and Middle School 1510 28th Street, Central City, NE 68826
NDOT will give a formal presentation at 6 p.m., with an open house to follow until 7:30 p.m. Identified as Central City Viaduct, the proposed project would construct a viaduct in Central City, Nebraska located in Merrick County. The preferred alternative would be located on U.S. Highway 30 (US-30) between C Avenue and 13th Avenue and on Nebraska Highway 14 (N-14) between 19th Street and just north of 10th Street.
The existing US-30 and N-14 intersection downtown would be realigned to the west to approximately B Avenue. US-30 would be reconstructed as a three-lane curbed urban roadway with 12-foot-wide lanes, sidewalks and parking between C Avenue and B Avenue, and between 16th Avenue and 13th Avenue. Between B Avenue and 16th Avenue, US-30 would be a two-lane divided urban roadway with a 4-foot-wide raised median and 20-foot-wide lanes with sidewalks.
C Avenue and existing N-14 from US-30 to I Street would be designated as one-way pairs for northbound and southbound N-14. N-14 would be reconstructed as a curbed urban roadway with 12-foot-wide lanes, sidewalks, and parking.
A portion of N-14 would be constructed on a new alignment starting from US-30 halfway between 14th Avenue and 13th Avenue, proceeding north crossing over the Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) and then proceeding west to connect back to existing N-14 at 10th Street.
These improvements would consist of constructing a 580-foot-long viaduct over the UPRR. The roadway would be a two-lane curbed urban roadway with 12-foot-wide lanes and 6-foot-wide shoulders and a sidewalk on one side of the roadway.
The two existing at-grade UPRR crossings at N-14/17th Avenue and 13th Street would be closed as
part of this project. The north intersection that ties into existing N-14 would be a roundabout. The south intersection with US-30 would be a T-intersection.
Existing N-14 from US-30 to just south of 10th Street would be repaired and relinquished to Central City.
Improvements include new paving, culvert and storm sewer work, guardrail, MSE walls, fencing,
bridge, new intersections, improved intersections, sidewalks, pavement striping, lighting, pedestrian accommodations, and traffic signals.
The purpose of this project is to:
- Eliminate conflicts between trains and vehicles at the existing N-14 at-grade UPRR crossing.
- Reduce traffic congestion and associated delays at the N-14 crossing of the UPRR tracks and
at the intersection with US-30. - Improve operations and reduce crash costs associated with the existing N-14 and US-30
intersection.
NDOT identifies the need for railroad grade separation structures by considering the exposure factor, traffic delays, and crash costs. The highway-rail crossing of N-14 and the UPRR mainline meets NDOT’s thresholds for considering a grade separation. NDOT has also determined a need to address operational challenges at the existing intersection of N-14 and US-30.
A draft EA has been prepared for this project and is available for public review at the following
locations:
- NDOT Headquarters (1500 Nebraska Parkway, Lincoln, NE)
- FHWA Nebraska Division (100 Centennial Mall N, Ste 220, Lincoln, NE)
- NDOT District 4 Headquarters (211 N Tilden Street, Grand Island, NE)
- Central City Public Library (1604 15th Avenue, Central City, NE)
An electronic version of the draft EA is available for review on the project website at: ndot.info/42013.
