Highway 79, Main Street reconstrution begins soon

by Nathan Arneal
Published 3/29/23

Representatives from the Nebraska Department of Transportation and its selected contractor, Steve Harris Construction, met with the public Thursday to discuss this summer’s construction project on Highway 79 and Main Street, North Bend.

During the meeting a group of local citizens said they want to work with the contractor to repave the downtown sidewalks in North Bend in conjunction with the highway project, which already includes the repaving of the curbside 5 feet of sidewalk.

The highway project consists of complete demolition and reconstruction of Main Street in North Bend. The remainder of Highway 79 between the Platte River and the new Highway 30 expressway about a mile north of North Bend will be resurfaced with asphalt.

The project will be done in phases, with short segments of road completely finished and open to traffic before the next phase begins.
Work is scheduled to begin April 3 and will start at the very south end of the project, about 100 feet south of the Platte River bridge. From that point north to the current Highway 30 (aka Sixth Street) will be resurfaced, including the river bridge. During this time traffic will be limited to one lane with traffic signals and wait-time displays regulating the north-south traffic.

NDOT project manager Ray Trujillo said at no time will the highway 30 and 79 intersection be affected or impeded.

Trujillo said work on the “urban portion,” i.e. Main Street within the city limits of North Bend, will be broken into four phases.

The first phase will be from 14th Street, the northernmost street in town, north to the city limit, which is about 350 feet. The second phase will be from 11th Street to 14th. The third phase Eighth Street to 11th. The final section, Phase IV, will be the downtown portion from Eighth Street to Sixth Street/Highway 30.

Work on Phase IV downtown is scheduled to begin in late July and be complete by mid September.

During the urban portion of construction, Highway 79 traffic will be detoured west on Highway 30, then move to the Highway 30 expressway to avoid passing through North Bend.

Resurfacing of Highway 79 from the north edge of town to the expressway is scheduled to start June 28 and run through July 11.
North Bend Area Chamber of Commerce president and North Bend Eagle owner Nathan Arneal said he has been talking with NDOT officials since January 2022 about giving downtown property owners the option to have their whole sidewalk replaced, with the property owner covering the cost of the additional half. Currently, the plans call for only the 5 feet of sidewalk adjacent to the street to be replaced.
Arneal asked what is the status of the owners’ option.

After some discussion, contractor Joe Stoos said he would be willing to work with the property owners to replace the remaining half of the sidewalk. He asked for a headcount of property owners that are interested. Arneal said he would come up with such a list and asked for a ballpark estimate on what it would cost per lot. Stoos said there are too many variables to give an estimate, but he said he would try to come up with one in the near future.

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