LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Officials on Friday awarded a $352 million contract to an Omaha company to build a freeway that will connect two highways on the south side of Lincoln.
The Nebraska Department of Transportation said the Lincoln South Beltway project is the largest ever undertaken by the agency.
When completed in spring 2023, the four-lane east-west freeway will stretch for 11 miles, connecting U.S. Highway 77 with Nebraska Highway 2.
The contract was awarded to Hawkins Construction.
The transportation department has acquired most of the needed right-of-way and has started removing vegetation. Construction is expected to begin in the spring.
State and local officials have been seeking the project for decades as a way to speed travel and lessen congestion on Highway 2 through Lincoln.
