Early Stages Of Hwy30 Realignment Project Underway

Layout of the project from the NDOT

(Grand Island, NE) - The Highway 30 realignment project is getting closer to beginning with some early action around the site area already taking place.  It will be one of the bigger capital improvement projects for the Nebraska Department of Transportation close to Grand Island since the building of the South Locust four-lane to Interstate 80. This project will consist of a four-lane add-on at the Hwy 30 point that comes westbound across Hwy 281 that will then shoot west, bend to the south, curve back to the west, and eventually blend in with Monitor Rd. 

This project has been a vision for quite some time. Chuck McCann drew up the original layout in 1996. According to NDOT District 4 Construction Engineer Eric Klein, the total cost of the by-pass will be just north of $33 million with $10 million just in concrete. The concrete will be mixed on-site just off of Stolley Park Road in between the current Hwy 30 and Engelman Road. Also 725,000 yards worth of dirt will be hauled in to build up the four and half miles of highway. There will be 31 colvert pipes, 100 sections of storm sewer along with 97 storm sewer inlets. 

An average of 8,000 vehicles a day march down Highway 30. One of the biggest improvements that will take place after the project is done is better access points for traffic to get on and off the highway. Current angles and points of the highway are extremely tough and dangerous to make an entry point to Highway 30. Example: Making a left-hand turn to come into Grand Island at Stolley Park. The other improvement will be the traffic flow to and from Husker Harvest Days. 

Also in the plan is to eliminate crossing Highway 30 on Claude Road with an increase in accidents. 

One question KRGI News asked: What happens to the current Highway 30? Klein says that the state will do some work to the highway but ultimately it will go back to the City of Grand Island and Hall County. There will be a short section that will be removed. What is today, Old Highway 30, the NDOT plans to make that portion straight again instead of curving up to Acres/John Deere. So in the end Old Highway 30 will continue to go straight. 

NDOT Project Fact Sheet - HERE