Heartland Expressway

The Heartland Expressway (also known as the National Highway System High Priority Corridor 14) is a federally designated High Priority Corridor between Limon, Colorado, and Rapid City, South Dakota in the US. The proposed four-lane corridor is currently under construction, and when completed, will function as the central third of the Ports-to-Plains Alliance, connecting the Ports to Plains Corridor and Theodore Roosevelt Expressway via the Nebraska Panhandle. When completed, the highway will provide multi-lane, divided highway access to cities including Alliance, Nebraska; Scottsbluff, Nebraska; and Brush, Colorado, bringing long-term economic development and reducing travel times in the region.[1]

Heartland Expressway

High Priority Corridor 14
Heartland Expressway highlighted in red
Route information
Length498 mi (801 km)
Existed1988–present
Component
highways
Major junctions
South end I-70 BL / US 24 / US 40 / US 287 in Limon, CO
Major intersections
North end
 I-90 / US 14 / US 16 Truck in Rapid City, SD
Location
CountryUnited States
States
Highway system

The proposed $500 million highway is part of a larger project that would create an international trade corridor from Canada to Mexico for the region’s abundant energy and agricultural products, with local community leaders long promoting its completion. Up to $943 million in economic benefits is estimated for the region over a 38-year span as a result of the project, through increased traffic volume, travel time savings, improved connections among trade centers, better labor access, improved access to manufacturing centers, better connections between agricultural centers and markets, better access between raw materials and processors, better access for tourists to local fossil sites,[2] and bring an estimated average of 2.5 million annual savings from accident reduction, 385-950 additional annual jobs and 9.5 million to 24.8 million in annual earnings.

History

The project started in 1988, as part of the Nebraska Expressway System program.[3] The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 made it the National Highway System High Priority Corridor 14.[4] However, parts of the program, including the Heartland Expressway were delayed. The long-delayed highway was estimated in 2012 to cost more than $500 million and take 20 years to complete, according to preliminary estimates for the project,[5] with an estimated time of finalizing the highway in the fall of 2018.[6] The project took its first big step when a new interchange was built linking Interstate 80 (I-80) with about 35 miles (56 km) of expressway between Kimball, Nebraska, and Scottsbluff, Nebraska. The highway has been under construction.

Future

The alignment of the Heartland Expressway will largely follow existing highways, with the project mostly consisting of improvements.

  • Widen U.S. Route 26 (US 26) to a four-lane divided highway from Torrington, Wyoming, to County Road 10 (CR 10) east of Morrill, Nebraska.
  • Widen US 26 to a four-lane divided highway from CR 30 in Minatare, Nebraska, to the US  26/L62A junction.
  • Widen L62A to four lanes with median from US 26/L62A split to US 385.
  • Widen US 385 to four lanes with median from L62A to Nebraska Highway 2 (NE 2) in Alliance, Nebraska
  • Improve US 385 into a super-2 facility to include 12-foot (3.7 m) lanes, 10-foot (3.0 m) shoulders, auxiliary turn lanes and passing lanes from NE 2 to US 20 in Chadron, Nebraska. This should be constructed in accordance to the super-2 criteria. The ultimate roadway section would include a four-lane highway when traffic volumes warrant the four-lane section.
  • Improve the intersection of US 385 and US 20.
  • Improve US 385 into a super-2 facility to include 12-foot (3.7 m) lanes, 10-foot (3.0 m) shoulders, auxiliary turn lanes and passing lanes from US 20 west of Chadron, Nebraska to Oelrichs, South Dakota.
  • Additional major safety and bottleneck improvements.

References
  1. "Heartland Expressway". Heartland Expressway. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
    - Great Plains International Trade Corridor Assessment (PDF). September 2008. Retrieved March 10, 2018. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
    - Heartland Expressway: Corridor Development and Management Plan, Final Report. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  2. "Opinion: Heartland Expressway". StarHerald.com. May 20, 2014. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
    - Palmer, Jane (December 14, 2003). "Fossil Freeway" (PDF). Sunday World-Herald. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
    - Koterba, Jeffrey (February 17, 2018). "Editorial: Transportation Department, Historical Society coordinate well on archaeology needs". Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  3. Moenning, Josh (January 30, 2018). "State can't afford to wait to upgrade infrastructure". McCook Gazette. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  4. Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act § 1105 (c)(14)
  5. "Heartland Expressway to cost $500M over 20 years". The Denver Post. June 9, 2012. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  6. Sherrod, Brian (August 18, 2017). "New signs reveal progress in Heartland Expressway". NBC Nebraska Scottsbluff. Scottsbluff, NE: KNEP-TV. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
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