Interstate 180 (Nebraska)
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Interstate 180 (I-180) is a short
auxiliary Interstate Highway Auxiliary Interstate Highways (also called three-digit Interstate Highways) are a supplemental subset of the freeways within the Interstate Highway System of the United States. Auxiliary routes are generally classified as spur routes, which conn ...
in
Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Lancaster County. The city covers with a population of 292,657 in 2021. It is the second-most populous city in Nebraska and the 73rd-largest in the United Sta ...
, United States. The north–south spur freeway connects
I-80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from downtown San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one o ...
to downtown Lincoln, running for while entirely
concurrent Concurrent means happening at the same time. Concurrency, concurrent, or concurrence may refer to: Law * Concurrence, in jurisprudence, the need to prove both ''actus reus'' and ''mens rea'' * Concurring opinion (also called a "concurrence"), a ...
to U.S. Route 34 (US 34). I-180 has two intermediate interchanges at Cornhusker Highway and Superior Street, both located north of Oak Creek. It is the only
auxiliary interstate highway Auxiliary Interstate Highways (also called three-digit Interstate Highways) are a supplemental subset of the freeways within the Interstate Highway System of the United States. Auxiliary routes are generally classified as spur routes, which conn ...
completely in the state of Nebraska. It was proposed in the 1950s and construction began in 1961 as part of the Lincoln Access Highway project. The northern section between Cornhusker Highway and I-80 opened on July 27, 1963, which was followed by a two-phase opening of the southern section between December 1963 and January 1964. The southern section, which includes a viaduct over a downtown railroad, was rebuilt from 1996 to 1998, while the Oak Creek crossing was rebuilt between 2001 and 2003.


Route description

I-180 begins at R Street in downtown Lincoln as a continuation of North 9th Street and North 10th Street, a pair of one-way streets which carry the southbound and northbound lanes of US 34, respectively. The four-lane freeway carries I-180 and US 34 northwest over a three-track railroad, skirting the western side of the
University of Nebraska A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...
campus and passing near Memorial Stadium (home to the
Nebraska Cornhuskers football The Nebraska Cornhuskers football team competes as part of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, representing the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the West Division of the Big Ten. Nebraska plays its home games at Memorial Stadium, ...
team) and
Pinnacle Bank Arena Pinnacle Bank Arena is a 15,500-seat indoor arena in the West Haymarket District of Lincoln, Nebraska. It was completed in 2013 and replaced the Bob Devaney Sports Center as the home of the University of Nebraska's men's and women's basketball ...
. It continues north between
Haymarket Park Hawks Field at Haymarket Park is a baseball stadium in the Haymarket District of Lincoln, Nebraska. It is less than a mile west of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln (NU) and is the home venue of the school's baseball team and the Lincoln Sa ...
to the west and residential areas to the east, crossing over Salt Creek and under US 6 near Oak Lake. After crossing Oak Creek, I-180 reaches an interchange with Cornhusker Highway that provides access to US 6 and the Belmont neighborhood. The freeway bisects Max E. Roper Park, which lies between residential neighborhoods in West Lincoln and Belmont along a small stream. I-180 then intersects Superior Street before reaching its terminus at a cloverleaf interchange with
I-80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from downtown San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one o ...
and US 77 near Lincoln Airport. US 34 continues northwest from the interchange on a four-lane divided roadway named the Purple Heart Highway. As a component of the
Interstate Highway System The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. T ...
, the entirety of I-180 is listed as part of the National Highway System, a national network of roads identified as important to the national economy, defense, and mobility; The freeway is maintained by the Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT), who conduct an annual survey of traffic volume that is expressed in terms of
average annual daily traffic Annual average daily traffic, abbreviated AADT, is a measure used primarily in transportation planning, transportation engineering and retail location selection. Traditionally, it is the total volume of vehicle traffic of a highway or road for a ...
(AADT), a measure of traffic volume for any average day of the year. Average traffic volumes on the highway in 2018 ranged from a minimum of 30,310 vehicles at its northern terminus with I-80 to a maximum of 33,410 vehicles south of Cornhuskers Highway.


History

In its 1955 plan for a national system of grade-separated superhighways, the federal
Bureau of Public Roads The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two programs, the Federal-aid Highway Program a ...
(BPR) recommended an east–west corridor bypassing Lincoln with a north–south spur connecting it to the city center. The plan later formed the basis of the Interstate Highway System, which was approved by Congress through the
Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, also known as the National Interstate and Defense Highways Act, was enacted on June 29, 1956, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the bill into law. With an original authorization of $25 billion for ...
. The north–south spur, later numbered I-180, was planned to generally follow the 10th Street corridor in downtown Lincoln and would include the replacement of a bridge crossing the city's northern railyard as well as a pair of one-way streets. The freeway would have three interchanges at Oak Street (now Cornhusker Highway), Superior Street, and I-80. The city council and Nebraska Department of Roads (now NDOT) studied seven routes drawn by planning consultants for I-180 in 1958. The state and BPR preferred a route along 9th and 10th streets, while the city proposed a connection further west on 7th Street, which was opposed by the state highway engineer due to its higher cost. Governor
Ralph Brooks Ralph Gilmour Brooks (July 6, 1898September 9, 1960) was an American Democratic politician who served as the 29th Governor of Nebraska. Early life Brooks was born in Eustis, Nebraska. His father was a farmer and operated a store. Brooks' famil ...
imposed a January 1, 1960, deadline for a routing decision in lieu of a proposed deferral of planning funds for the project. The city council approved the state's route using 9th and 10th in December 1959, but modified the preferred route a year later to veer west from downtown and avoid properties along 10th Street at the request of the University of Nebraska Regents. Construction of I-180, also named the Lincoln Access Highway, began in 1961 and was estimated to cost $7.068 million (equivalent to $ in dollars), with completion set for December 1962. By the end of 1962, damp weather and a strike by a local engineers' union slowed construction of the freeway, particularly the bridges over the Lincoln railyard. The northern section between Oak Street and I-80 opened to traffic on July 27, 1963, one month before the start of the
Nebraska State Fair The Nebraska State Fair is the state fair of the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is held annually in Grand Island, approximately 100 miles west of the state capital of Lincoln, which hosted the fair until 2010. The fair usually runs for 11 days, an ...
. U.S. 34 was later realigned onto I-180 in late 1963 after a new highway bypassing the
Lincoln Air Force Base Lincoln Airport (formerly Lincoln Municipal Airport) is a public/military airport northwest of downtown Lincoln, the state capital, in Lancaster County, Nebraska, United States. It is owned by the Lincoln Airport Authority and is the second- ...
(now Lincoln Airport) opened to traffic. The southern section from 9th Street to Oak Street opened to southbound traffic on December 11, 1963, with weighted oil drums in place of
guardrail Guard rail, guardrails, or protective guarding, in general, are a boundary feature and may be a means to prevent or deter access to dangerous or off-limits areas while allowing light and visibility in a greater way than a fence. Common shapes ...
s awaiting installation. The opening was made feasible through the use of temporary asphalt in place of concrete amid the cold weather, as well as leaving the shoulders unpaved until asphalt could be laid. The northbound lanes opened for traffic on January 15, 1964, marking the completion of I-180. The new freeway led to residential development north of the city, particularly in the Belmont neighborhood. The southern section of I-180 was rebuilt by the state government during a multi-year project in the late 1990s to replace the viaducts in downtown Lincoln with modern bridges with full-sized shoulders and a lower
slope In mathematics, the slope or gradient of a line is a number that describes both the ''direction'' and the ''steepness'' of the line. Slope is often denoted by the letter ''m''; there is no clear answer to the question why the letter ''m'' is use ...
at a cost of $15 million (equivalent to $ in dollars). The project and its proposed detours on local streets were opposed by the downtown chamber of commerce, who feared its negative effects on business access. The southbound lanes closed on December 1, 1996, following the end of the 1996 football season to prevent disruption around home games for the Nebraska Cornhuskers. The new southbound bridge opened on June 10, 1997, having been completed 61 days ahead of schedule by contractor Hawkins Construction, who earned a $1.2 million bonus. The northbound viaduct was closed on November 16, 1997, and its replacement opened on May 28, 1998. The project was completed 72 days ahead of schedule by Hawkins Construction, who earned another bonus. The Oak Creek bridge and interchange with Cornhusker Highway were rebuilt from 2001 to 2003 by the state government at a cost of $12 million. Construction was briefly delayed due to the discovery of nesting cliff swallows, a protected migratory bird species, under the old bridge in June 2003, which prevented demolition work from continuing. The
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with othe ...
granted permission to remove the cliff swallow nests, along with others found belonging to
barn swallow The barn swallow (''Hirundo rustica'') is the most widespread species of swallow in the world. In fact, it appears to have the largest natural distribution of any of the world's passerines, ranging over 251 million square kilometres globally. ...
s and
common grackle The common grackle (''Quiscalus quiscula'') is a species of large icterid bird found in large numbers through much of North America. First described in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus, the common grackle has three subspecies. Adult common grackles have a ...
s, preventing a month-long work stoppage. The project replaced the existing northbound bridge with a widened roadway and moved a ramp at the interchange to improve traffic flow.


Exit list


References


External links


Kurumi.com: Interstate 180
{{3di, 80 80-1 Nebraska 80-1 1 Nebraska Transportation in Lincoln, Nebraska Transportation in Lancaster County, Nebraska U.S. Route 34