By the end of this year, Broadway through Council Bluffs will no longer be part of the Iowa highway system. US 6 will have to be taken off its straight route through the city and moved onto I-29 and I-80. After hearing about this last fall, Dan Drackley had another thought, and it makes so much sense it’s never going to happen.
It has to do with West Omaha and what used to be Elkhorn. In the last decade, US 6 was upgraded to a full elevated freeway west of I-680. However, in Elkhorn, the freeway loses the US 6 designation but doesn’t pick up US 275 for 2 miles. Instead, it’s Link 28B (an inbetween designation used in Nebraska).
US 6 runs north-south from just north of I-80 exit 432 to Elkhorn, with NE 31 co-signed the entire way (204th Street in Omaha). Shortly after leaving the four-lane coming down from Fremont, US 275 is paired with NE/IA 92 all the way through Omaha to I-29 (Center Road, Industrial Road, L Street, and then South Omaha Bridge Road). The two US highways cross over there.
BUT…if Nebraska switched US 275 onto West Dodge Road/Dodge Street, and rerouted US 6 onto I-80, there would be one designation for the four-lane all the way west of I-680 and the two routes would meet in Council Bluffs. Name confusion would be kept to a minimum since the streets are usually referred to by their local names anyway.
In the quick-and-dirty maps below, I’ve highlighted US 6’s current and suggested routes in light blue, and US 275’s in orange. Coming up diagonally from Lincoln, 6 would have an itty-bitty southern jog to get onto I-80 and stay on it until Exit 8 in Iowa. (Alternately, it can follow NE 31 and NE 370 and get on I-80 at Exit 439.)
The beauty of this plan is that no street would need a change in jurisdiction. L28B takes over the short piece of 275 running from the four-lane to NE 92, and then NE/IA 92 stays the same, crossing the Missouri River on the same bridge it does today. NE 31 remains on the north-south road through Gretna. US 275 comes into Iowa with I-480 and has its multiplex with I-29 extended 6 miles.
This plan also fits nicely with the massive upgrades and improvements to make I-29/80 a dual carriageway. US 275 would be in the local lanes with I-29 and US 6 would be in the express lanes with I-80 the entire way.
BUT…this would require coordination and cooperation between two states, and there might not be enough time between now and when Broadway is turned over to make this happen. The other possibility is that because the construction is ongoing, the change on the Nebraska side could wait until a final signage project at the end of the decade. US 6 would still come into the state on I-480 in the interim, but have a “detour” onto I-29 and I-80.