Workers on Seward’s Highway 15 project are making major changes at the Hillcrest intersection this week, and circling back to the Seward Street intersection to complete work delayed until the arrival of new traffic signals.
Dec. 1 remains the goal for completing concrete work on the 1.1-mile highway project, according to Nebraska Department of Transportation Highway Project Manager Brian Schoen.
The $9.9 million state project, which began last spring, involves reconstructing the stretch of Highway 15 from just south of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad crossing to North Avenue with a two-way left turn lane from Jackson Avenue to North Avenue, a new right turn lane near the high school, and resurfacing from North Avenue to Pinewood Avenue.
In conjunction with the project, the city has also had crews replacing storm sewers and making other updates to the areas being reconstructed.
Seward City Administrator Greg Butcher said state and city crews have addressed unanticipated utility lines, ground conditions and weather issues since the project began in the spring, some of which have required change orders and delays.
Schoen said the crews are working to speed things up.
Bradford to Hillcrest Avenue
Traffic was expected to shift near Moffitt Avenue late last week, moving some traffic to the new lanes and allowing northbound traffic from Bradford to Moffitt Avenues. While they hope to have more north- and south-bound traffic opened, Schoen said maintaining southbound traffic on Highway 15 remains the priority. Northbound traffic is still diverted to Second Street.
He said paving would continue from that area north to Hillcrest this week with the Roberts Avenue intersection closed.
Butcher said city crews are working on “peripheral storm sewer work” on Bradford and Park avenues, which should also be completed this month.
Hillcrest Avenue intersection
Work will also continue on the Hillcrest Avenue intersection and Schoen said they hope to open up east-west traffic as quickly as possible with the knowledge that it will be limited again as the project continues.
“I don’t want people to think that when we open (the intersection) it is going to be open for good,” Schoen said. “We are going to have to close it down to do the northbound side.”
Seward Street intersection
Starting on Sept. 9, Schoen expected crews to first close the northbound side of Seward Street intersection to replace pavement and install new traffic signals and lighting, which were not available when other reconstruction was done in the area.
Rather than completing the paving and having to remove some of it when the materials for the lights arrived, that portion of the project was deferred while crews continued to move northward.
Work on the intersection is expected to take about a month because it involves more than the light installation and paving.
Butcher said the design of this intersection is probably more than a century old. It and the intersection at Fifth and Seward streets, were built in an odd, almost diamond shape, which makes the pedestrian path different from other intersections.
“Now those pedestrian crossings are really long,” Butcher said.
The new plan will build out a pedestrian area on the southeast corner of the intersection, near the William Seward statue, to shorten the distance between the east and west curbs and improve visibility and safety.
If the initial corner bump out works, Butcher said the city will foster a community discussion to determine if similar changes should be made to other intersections.
Detours, changes
Butcher said the city will continue its efforts to keep the community informed of changes in the project schedule and officials have met with project neighbors about delays and change orders.
“We continue to work with our community partners,” Butcher said.
He noted that area businesses, the school district and the Seward County Chamber and Development Partnership have helped plan traffic routes.
Butcher encouraged area residents to use Second Street for northbound travel unless drivers have downtown destinations. Use of Fifth and Seventh streets should be limited to travel in the downtown area instead of through traffic to minimize traffic problems.
Butcher noted that truck traffic seems to have decreased through the downtown area over the course of the project as drivers use highways further east and west of Seward to get around the construction.
The state’s fact sheet on the Highway 15 project lists Fall 2024 as the target for completion of road construction, but Spring 2025 as the target for completing work along side the highway, which would include seed, sod and general cleanup.
