The first road improvement projects in a multi-year plan are moving faster than expected across Nebraska according to state officials. The 2011 Build Nebraska Act allocates a portion of sales tax revenues to fund 17 different projects over the next ten years. Governor Dave Heineman says the completion of the projects from Omaha to Alliance remains important to Nebraska’s economy.

The first phase of the project will see the completion of a Wahoo bypass on U.S. Highway 77, a bypass around Kearney, and a new four-lane highway between Blair and Omaha. The Heartland Expressway in the Panhandle and a proposed south Lincoln beltway are set to be completed in later phases of the project.

Heineman said setting highway priorities is always difficult.

 

The Build Nebraska Act allocates one-fourth of a cent of the state’s sales tax toward new road construction.