Highway 15 will be under construction in the spring of 2024 for reconstruction and widening in some areas.
Select stakeholders were invited to a meeting with city officials and the Nebraska Department of Transportation March 27 to discuss the project.
The project will involve removing and reconstructing the pavement underneath the highway, also known as Sixth Street, which runs north and south through Seward.
The highway will be widened five feet on either side in some areas to allow for a center turn lane.
Those invited to the stakeholders’ meeting were people who will not have access to their driveways while the project is underway.
“The point of these stakeholder meetings was to talk about access,” said Tony Bui, public involvement specialist for NDOT. “A lot of these residents on Sixth Street will not be having access while the project is under construction.”
Seward City Administrator Greg Butcher said notice of the meeting went to residents whose only access to their property is off the highway. Those with alley access or another way in did not receive a notice.
However, a public open house for the project will be held later this month for anyone interested.
The project will be funded largely by state and federal dollars, Bui said.
The city will pay a small portion of the cost for maintenance and surfacing of adjacent parking stalls in the area between Highway 34 and Jackson Avenue, according to Butcher, because those areas are wider than the state’s three-lane requirement.
Though the project is still in the design phase, reconstruction is planned from Ash Street, just south of the railroad tracks, to the north side of Pinewood Avenue, north of Seward High School.
The highway is still brick underneath the surface, and Butcher said freezing and thawing of moisture in the road has caused that brick to “liquify,” leading to cracks and crumbling.
“The roadway is not in the best condition, so we need to get that up to our standards,” Bui said.
“This will give us a way better base to work with into the future with better drainage,” Butcher said.
More storm drains will be added as part of the reconstruction, and the city will do some of its own projects in the areas of Park Avenue and Cedar Street, as well as near Bradford Street, to help with drainage.
Butcher said the portion of the reconstruction from Ash Street to Highway 34 will be completed during one shutdown.
During the next phase north, traffic will divert to the east or west.
During the northern-most phase, one lane will remain open throughout the project for southbound traffic, and Second Street will be used as the northbound route.
Non-local traffic will be routed around the city.
Work will begin in the spring of 2024, and Butcher said the first phase should be completed by July 4 of that year.
Crews will not work during the winter months, and subsequent phases should be completed by July 2025.
Work will be done within the existing NDOT right of way, though the state may need to obtain temporary construction easements to allow crews room to work.
A public open house will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 28, at the Seward Civic Center, 616 Bradford Street. Residents can see plans for the project and ask questions.
Bui said postcards will be mailed to Seward residents informing them of the open house.
