While football fans are crossing their fingers for a return to those old days, it appears that in and around Falls City, the road construction season for the next several years will be in full force.
During the annual EDGE Banquet in January and in the EDGE quarterly report, Executive Director Lucas Froeschl presented information concerning several large projects that are being planned by the Nebraska Department of Transportation.
The project that will likely kick off the flurry of road work is replacing the viaduct on West 21st Street which is Highway 8. Plans call for the viaduct to be widened and the project will be done one lane at a time so traffic will be maintained.
In Falls City, plans are for a large portion of of Highway 73 which is Harlan Street will be replaced with all new concrete and could include a change in the layout of the street. Preliminary plans call for the concrete to be replaced from 19th or 20th and Harlan Street south to the city limits in 2027 or 28. The street may be narrowed from four-lane to three lanes which would take it from a 50 foot wide street to 45 feet wide. The project would remove the cement that has been patched many times and replace the infrastructure as well.
Also in the city limits of Falls City will be replacement of the concrete on 14th Street or Highway 159. While it hasn't been that long since this portion of road was redone, there are some issues with the cement which would be replaced. No changes to the current configuration are planned.
Another project in the area will be replacement of the bridge over the Nemaha River east of Salem near the railroad tracks. The current bridge will be completely removed and rebuilt, thus meaning traffic will not be able to use Highway 8 while the project is underway.
At this point the timeline for the projects has not been set.
