Yesterday, the Panhandle Area Development District and the Ports to Plains, along with local, state, and federal representatives, met in Gering with FHWA administrators and NDOR officials, including Director Monty Frederickson, to discuss a resolution on how Federal Heartland Expressway earmarks can be utilized.
PADD Director Jerrod Haberman said, "Everyone in attendance, the FHWA, the NDOR, the Governor's representative, and our elected representatives all came into the room with a similar objective, they wanted to find a solution to build the Heartland Expressway in a manner that was suitable to local residents while meeting state and federal requirements."
Haberman continued "Having Congressman Adrian Smith and State Senator Le Roy Louden personally attend the meeting was incredibly helpful as they provided valuable suggestions and alternatives for resolving this issue. Having good represenatation from US Senator Ben Nelson, US Senator Mike Johannes, and Govenor Dave Heineman demonstrated the will to find a reasonable solution."
At issue was developing a finance plan, developing environmental reviews, establishing logical termini, having a project with independent utility, and alternative solutions such as Super 2.
At the outset of the meeting, the FHWA stated they were supportive of the Heartland Expressway but they have no role in project selection and are project neutral. The FHWA stated that earmarks must be implimented to follow federal requirements and they are responsible as project administrators for implimenting the rules.
The parameters of logical termini were quickly agreed upon. The Heartland Expressway from Minatare to Alliance was divided into three segments. One segment runs from Minatare to the Bayard turnoff, the second continues on L62A to the 385 juncture, the third is the segment from L62A to Alliance.'
The FHWA clarified that each of these projects in whole will be sufficient to meet independent utility, provided there is a finance plan in place to complete the respective segment.
The FHWA also clarified that environmental reviews would likely require a re-evaluation, but the re-evaluation may not necessitate starting from the beginning.
Development of a Super 2 alternative was discussed. The NDOR described their vision of a Super 2 Heartland but admitted the state does not have an official Super 2 definition. Local representatives stated upgrading the two lane in preperation for a future expressway is a logical approach. However, there were concerns the Highway 385 segment may not be conducive for this approach for various reasons. There was also concerns raised about acquiring right-of-way for a four-lane if the acquired land would not be utilized in the near future.
The concept of twinning the existing lanes was discussed as an alternative. The NDOR did not have an estimate for such an approach, but plans to investigate whether that would be a feasible alternative financially, logistically and saftey-wise.
"I believe we built a path to a resoultion that will not only be acceptable to all parties, but actually create an outcome that will please everyone." Haberman stated.
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