OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - A coalition of Nebraska mayors called on state officials Wednesday to finish a series of highway upgrades that were unveiled in 1988 but never completed because of a lack of funding.
The mayors sent a letter to state lawmakers, urging them to make roads a top priority in the 2021 legislative session. They also questioned why Nebraska is one of two states that don't use bonding to finance highway projects.
The mayors are pushing for the completion of the Nebraska Expressway System, which was designed to connect the state's larger cities to one another and the interstate system with four-lane highways. They note that, of the 600 miles of four-lane highways that were promised, nearly one-third are still unfinished.
"The result is more motorists are being killed every year on dangerously crowded two-lane highways and communities' economic growth opportunities are significantly limited," the mayors said in the letter.
Gov. Pete Ricketts on Wednesday reiterated his opposition to bonding for road projects, arguing that the state has always avoided that kind of debt and should continue to do so.
The letter was signed by the mayors of 21 cities, including Norfolk, Fremont and Columbus.