The east-west transcontinental Interstate 80 (I-80) runs from New Jersey to California, with Nebraska among the 11 states that I-80 passes through. Over 450 miles of the 2,900-mile-long I-80 are in Nebraska, making it the state with the longest section of the highway. Just west of Lincoln, the Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT) and Hawkins Construction are currently working on a section of I-80.
The 8-mile stretch of I-80 that is under construction is composed of the original 1962 concrete pavement, with multiple asphalt overlays added to the pavement since then. NDOT determined that the condition of the roadway required more significant work, rather than another patch job.
"Reconstruction is necessary based on pavement age and condition and the rising cost to maintain it," said Brandon Varilek, NDOT District 1 Engineer.
Therefore, the existing roadway and bridges are being completely removed and replaced. The pavement is being reconstructed with 13-inch doweled concrete pavement on 5-inch foundation course on a stabilized subgrade.
The average daily traffic in this area of I-80 is projected to be just over 40,000 in 2024, and it is expected to reach over 52,000 by 2044. Trucks make up a significant percentage of the traffic at 28 percent, as I-80 is a heavy freight corridor from coast to coast.
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Currently, there is congestion on the road, especially when events take place, including football in the fall. Traffic coming north and south to take the I-80 corridor to their destination also impacts the roadway. This reality, along with the expectation of increased traffic, was part of the equation that convinced NDOT to expand the highway from two lanes in each direction to three lanes.
"Any routine maintenance work or traffic incidents requiring a lane closure currently results in traffic backups for miles," Varilek said.
Currently, the existing cross section includes a 3-foot inside shoulder, two 12-foot driving lanes, and a 10-foot outside shoulder. When the project is complete, the cross section will feature a 12.5-foot inside shoulder, three 12-foot driving lanes, and a 12-foot outside shoulder.
In addition to increasing capacity, the team is implementing safety improvements. A concrete median barrier will separate the eastbound and westbound pavements.
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The team will also remove and replace two pairs of bridges on I-80. Each pair was replaced with a single, full-width bridge. Four bridges crossing I-80 are being removed and replaced.
The timing and pacing of projects are dependent on multiple factors, including weather. Good weather can smooth out many scheduling challenges, while bad weather can wreak havoc on the best-laid plans.
The Pleasant Dale - NW 56th Street project has been plagued by rain since it began, especially in the first two months of the project.
"We had a small amount of temporary pavement that needed to be built to allow us safe access into the job site, and the weather just wouldn't allow it," said Scott Hildebrand, Vice President of Hawkins Construction. "We were able to mitigate most of that delay by pushing our construction season later into the winter through the use of heaters, blankets, and heated concrete."
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Unfortunately, the rain has been even worse during the second year, according to Hildebrand.
"Although the wet weather has surely caused some significant setbacks, the crews have done an excellent job of paying attention to the forecast and timing weather-sensitive work to take advantage of dry days, and less weather-sensitive work, such as demolition, during those rainy days."
Another challenge is getting work done while meeting NDOT's requirement to maintain two lanes of traffic in each direction.
"Due to the traffic volumes, any work that would require a lane closure has to be performed overnight between the hours of 8 p.m. and 6 a.m.," Varilek said.
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Because of the requirement to maintain the traffic lanes, the team completed the first phase of construction within the existing median. To keep the crew safe, the team installed temporary concrete protection barriers to separate themselves from the traffic.
"This setup resulted in limited space for construction operations and posed additional challenges related to moving equipment and materials in and out of the work area," Varilek said.
There was a cascading effect, as the work arrangement impacted phasing.
"Phasing had to be completed this way to get new pavement constructed, for traffic to be maintained to start full reconstruction work on the existing westbound lanes," Varilek said. "Phasing and limitations were developed in order to minimize the need for new right of way, to keep the cost for this project down so that funding was available for more projects."
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The project required significant coordination among NDOT, law enforcement, first responders, the contractor, and other involved agencies to plan and coordinate incident response during Phase 2 of the construction.
“During this phase, westbound traffic is limited to two 12[-foot] lanes, with little additional room outside of either lane, in between the temporary concrete protection barrier and the permanent concrete median barrier,” Varilek said. “The only access to I-80 is before the project starts at the east end and an interchange at the west end of the project.
“Due to the barrier being in place and the limited access points on the interstate, access to the incident is very restricted. NDOT and its partners began planning several months before the switch to Phase 2 to develop a plan for handling traffic and providing the quickest incident response possible in the event of incidents within the westbound lanes.”
Hawkins and NDOT have partnered on numerous projects over the years. Recently, they partnered on the Lincoln South Beltway, NDOT's largest construction project to date. So, it is no surprise that Hawkins was interested in this project.
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"We love building roads, so naturally, a road-building project of this size is a no-brainer for us," Hildebrand said.
NDOT selected its construction partner based on the low bid. Hildebrand believes Hawkins was able to offer the best value for the project by self-performing a large majority of the work. This includes subgrade stabilization, concrete paving, culvert construction, bridge reconstruction, and producing their own concrete for the project.
Construction of the project began in spring 2024 and is scheduled to wrap at the end of 2027. Despite the weather issues, the project is currently on schedule. Varilek credited the communication between the state and the contractor, as well as Hawkins' work ethic.
"Hawkins is very good at planning and utilizing their resources,” he said. “If things start to fall behind, they can make adjustments to get everything back on schedule quickly."
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"The key to keeping on schedule has been a project team that pays attention to the baseline and knows where they need to be to get the job done on time,” Hildebrand added. “They know when they are behind and when they need to do something different to make up for lost time. They've worked nights, weekends, and even holidays to keep the project on track."
The project has a construction budget of $115 million and is currently on budget. The federal government is providing 90 percent of the funding, while the state is covering the remaining 10 percent.
When the project is complete, travel from Lincoln's western suburbs will be smoother, with less congestion, shorter delays, and improved safety. The project continues the expansion of I-80 in the area. The third lane, along with widened inside and outside shoulders, means traffic incidents will not lead to massive backups.
"The extra width also provides a safer environment for first responders working traffic incidents," Varilek said. "The concrete median barrier provides physical separation between eastbound and westbound traffic, which will minimize, if not eliminate, the potential for devastating crossover crashes."
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- Owner: Nebraska Department of Transportation
- General Contractor: Hawkins Construction Company, Omaha, Nebraska
- Designer/Engineer: Felsburg Holt & Ullevig, Greenwood Village, Colorado
- Other Contractors: Pink Grading, Omaha, Nebraska; M.E. Collins Contracting Co., Wahoo, Nebraska; Pavers Inc., Waverly, Nebraska
