Public Works Director Keith Kurz gives a presentation about the one and six year street improvement plan to Grand Island’s City Council on July 22, (Carol Bryant, Central Nebraska Today)
GRAND ISLAND – Public Works Director Keith Kurz gave a presentation about a robust one and six year street improvement plan at the Grand Island City Council’s July 22 meeting.
The 2026 capital improvement budget summary shows $16,306,650 funded by the Gas Tax and Sales Tax and $10,950,000 funded by the General Fund, for a total of 427,256,650.
Kurz described 22 upcoming capital projects for 2025-26.
They are:
*Annual curb ramp project, $180,000. This project targets having a no-curb transition where sidewalks meet streets to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
*Broadwell/Union Pacific Railroad Grade Separation, $218,000/$34,210,000. Construction on the project is estimated to begin in FY28.
*Locust Street from Second Street to Fonner Park Road. $7.3 million/$12.5 million. Full depth replacement will be made of the roadway, with concrete curb and gutter. Approximately $1.4 million of the project cost is for water and sanitary sewer projects.
*Locust Street from Highway 34 to the Wood River Diversion location. $35,000/$3,059,900. Improvements will be made to the roadway, and bridge work is currently underway.
*Independence Avenue. Capital Avenue to Manchester Road/Macron Street. $800,000/$4.2 million. Street and drainage improvements will be made. Independence Avenue by George Park will be widened. Restoration work will be completed in FY26.
*Stuhr Road, dual northbound left turns at Highway 30. $50,000/$1,030,000. The project will aid in traffic flow at Highway 30 and Stuhr Road. JBS is cost-sharing in the project for $235,439. The estimated city share is $611,028.
*State Street Median Improvements, $1,836,000/$2,016,000. Improvements will be made to aid in traffic flow. Access restrictions will be made. Construction will start in FY26.
*Stolley Park Road; State Fair entrance to Stuhr Road. $2,969,000/$4.6 million. The road will be widened for a common turn lane. Construction will start in FY26.
*Burlington Northern Railroad Crossing Rail Study, $75,000. This is a safety study of 17 Burlington Northern crossings from 70th Road to Gunbarrel Road. 80 percent of the cost will come from federal funds, 10 percent from city funds, and 10 percent from railroad funds.
*13th Street Median Improvements, $425,000/$2,650,000. Improvements will be made to aid in traffic flow. Construction will start in FY27.
*Highway 281 intersection improvements, $60,000/$5.6 million. The project will affect State Street, 13th Street, Faidley, Old Potash Highway, westbound Highway 30 ramps, and Stolley Park Road. Left turn offsets and right turn lanes will be added. The city has requested $4,484,419 from the state in safety funds. Construction will begin potentially in FY29.
*Webb Road/13th Street Traffic Signal, $350,000. The signal including controller will be replaced.
*Sycamore Street from 10th Street to Capital Avenue. $250,000/$3.7 million. Driving lanes will be replaced. Construction will start in FY27.
*N 80 Wetland Delineation, $2.3 million/$2,650,000. This is a city-owned wetland bank. This will double as a detention cell to allow for additional water storage on the north end of town. It will improve drainage depths in Moores Creek within the city.
*Sidewalk cost share program, $25,000. This allows for homeowners to request funds to repair displaced, broken, or Americans with Disabilities Act deficient sidewalks in the public right of way.
*Platte Valley Industrial Park drainage district, $450,000. This project involves design and construction of a drainage outlet in the Platte Valley Industrial Park area.
*Stormwater Modeling, $75,000. This is an annual evaluation, which uses data collected over past years to improve drainage in various parts of the city.
*Third Street Drainage Improvements, $400,000. This project will go from Eddy Street to Cedar Street.
*Street/Fleet Facility Land, $1.5 million. This involves land acquisition for relocation of the Street/Fleet facility. The current location is leased from the Union Pacific Railroad.
*Capital Outfall Large Culvert Replacements, $200,000. The city will begin replacement of large corrugated metal pipes through drainways that have rusted out.
*South Locust Train, $6 million. Trail improvements will go from the existing Wood River Diversion Trail along South Locust Street to a proposed trail head just south of the Camp Augustine entrance. This will be a 10-foot-wide concrete trail section. The project will also include an addition to one of the existing Platte River bridges to allow for the trail to cross over the river.
