IT'S A BIRD, IT'S A PLANE AND NO, THAT'S NOT A NEW BIKE TRAIL IN THE MIDDLE OF I-80

LINCOLN- The unusual-looking, 22-mile-long strip of fresh asphalt in the middle of the Interstate 80 median west of Lincoln is not a new bicycle trail. 

Jeni Campana of the Nebraska Department of Transportation said that the asphalt trail is the “base” for a new cable guard rail that will be installed soon between the two I-80 exits.

The installation of the cable guard rail is part of a $9.5 million project in that stretch of I-80, which includes improvements to culverts, dirt work and some paving. Garcia/Chicoine Enterprises, of Milford is doing the work, which is expected to be completed before the end of the year.

Campana said the state has utilized cable guard rails in the Omaha area, on the Kennedy Freeway/U.S. 75 in South Omaha and Sarpy County for about a decade, to prevent vehicles from crossing over the median and causing head-on collisions.

Campana said the cable guard rails were considered for I-80 from the west edge of Lincoln to Pleasant Dale, but that stretch is scheduled to be widened to six lanes, with work expected to begin in 2024. 

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