US 30 in eastern Nebraska is getting some changes.
On June 15, a new alignment of the highway opened from the top of the Fremont bypass west to west of North Bend. This removed 30 from a long portion of original Lincoln Highway (or right next to it), including through the unincorporated map dot of Ames. A completed four-lane between Fremont and Columbus should be open by the end of 2024.
NE 79 traffic at North Bend cannot go straight through the intersection with new 30. The Nebraska Department of Transportation has built what it calls a “reduced conflict U-turn” and what Iowa calls a “reduced conflict intersection”. A decade ago this new intersection design was called a J-turn and was roundly rejected at the public meetings regarding improvements for the 65/330 and 30/218 intersections.
Also in Fremont, a roundabout-infested cutoff for US 77 has opened. Now northbound 77, just north of the Platte River, goes slightly southeast and east to join the US 275 freeway. This lengthens the multiplex with 275.
A southern bypass of Blair, from Wal-Mart to near South 10th Street, will take truck traffic out of downtown. That could also be completed by the end of 2024, KMTV reports. Presumably, US 30 would be rerouted onto this bypass, although there’s a chance it could be labeled only a truck route.
These changes also mean that my state-level clinch of US 77 and near-clinch of US 30 are spoiled, so I’ll have to hit the area on a trip west. (If, that is, I ever get a job that will allow me to travel again. Will still proofread for food.)