Interstate 80 in Nebraska - History

History

Built along the pathway of the Great Platte River Road, I-80 in Nebraska follows the same route as many historic trails, including the Oregon Trail, the California Trail and the Mormon Trail. Starting in 1957 after federal funding was allotted, Nebraskans began planning their interstate construction. Led by the Nebraska State Highway Commission, there were hearings across the state to decide where the route was going to be. Aside from the federally-mandated "control points" in Omaha and Scottsbluff, the route could vary across the state. Dozens of meetings were held in Grand Island, Kearney and North Platte, among other locations. The commission addressed issues of whether the highway would be north or south of the Platte River or whether it would follow U.S. 30. The South Platte Chamber of Commerce and various cities were very active in these sessions, and debate over where the Interstate would be constructed continued into the 1960s.

After the first contract for building the interstate was awarded in 1957, a 6.5-mile (10.5 km) section near Gretna was the first section to be completed that year. The first long segment to be opened was a fifty mile section between Dodge Street in Omaha and the West Lincoln interchange in Lincoln in 1961. During a "Golden Link" ceremony, the last section of I-80 in Nebraska was completed when a brass connector was inserted in the roadway near Sidney on April 1, 1974. This was designed to keep in tradition with the golden spike on the railroads in 1869.

The total length of the Nebraska section is 455.27 miles (732.69 km) long, and was completed at a cost of $435 million.

The Interstate passes through 15 counties in the state: Kimball, Cheyenne, Deuel, Keith, Lincoln, Dawson, Buffalo, Hall, Hamilton, York, Seward, Lancaster, Cass, Sarpy, and Douglas.