Highway 34 Bridge Creating Buzz On Both Sides Of River
The highly-anticipated opening of the U.S. Highway 34 – Missouri River Bridge is now just weeks away.
Jensen Construction project engineer Landon Streit said Friday a formal dedication ceremony is tentatively set for Wednesday, Oct. 22, just days before the bridge is expected to be opened to motorists.
The $140-million, 3,280-foot bridge will extend U.S. Highway 34 from Interstate 29 and link western Mills County to U. S. Highway 75 and the Kennedy Freeway in eastern Sarpy County, Neb., near LaPlatte.
“We’re sure working toward the end of October. I think with the cooperation of Mother Nature, we’ll get there,” Streit said.
Streit said the final phase of bridge construction will include the completion of the deck overlay, the placement of median barriers, railing, touch-up work on the steel girders, grooving and the painting of traffic lane lines.
The bridge has been in the discussion and planning stages for nearly a quarter century with community leaders and economic development officials in southwest Iowa being some of the most vocal advocates - always promoting the project as a potential catalyst to growth and development along the Highway 34 corridor.
What southwest Iowans may not realize is the bridge is also creating quite the buzz on the Nebraska side of the river.
In separate interviews with The Opinion-Tribune, officials from several agencies in Nebraska said the bridge is being viewed as a stimulus to economic development in both Sarpy and Cass counties.
“You’ve got a lot of excitement with it (bridge) because it’s seen as an opportunity to open up that corridor for future development,” Jim Ristow, CEO and President of the Greater Bellevue Chamber of Commerce said. “Opening up that corridor in a new way is going to connect us with the I-29 traffic, Glenwood and some of the surrounding communities there. I think it’s going to open trade to go both ways in a much more convenient way.”
Ristow said the bridge project has been one of the most-discussed topics in Bellevue over the past 20 years, noting early involvement and support for the project by former Nebraska State Sen. Paul Hartnett of Bellevue and former Nebraska Gov. and U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson.
“You’ve had a lot of discussions over the years,” Ristow said. “Both the Bellevue and Plattsmouth bridges are aging bridges, so there’s concern with their lifespans, too.”
The assumption might be that traffic on both the Bellevue and Plattsmouth toll bridges will decline significantly after the Highway 34 bridge opens. Ristow, however, believes the Bellevue Bridge will continue to serve a need as the most direct route in and out of the Olde Towne business district. Ristow pointed to the recent opening of a new Kwik Shop convenience store on Mission Avenue as a sign of confidence for the Olde Towne area.
“Kwik Shop just put in a brand new store that is the No. 1 Kwik Shop in the region,” he said. “You’ve got the downtown environment area that’s well trafficked. We don’t think it (new bridge) is going to be a huge distraction.
“There are still people that commute to Council Bluffs, and vice versa, that are openly stating that it’s still more convenient to just use the Bellevue Bridge since they’re coming from the north side. There will probably be some diminished traffic, but I don’t think it will be as detrimental to the downtown market.”
Ristow and Sarpy County Economic Development Corporation Executive Director Toby Churchill both expect the immediate impact of the new bridge in Sarpy County to be felt along Highway 34 in an area between the new bridge and Highway 75.
“I think because you have light rail, the western flank of that is actually dual-served – U.P. and Burlington both have rails that run through there. It makes for a great fit of light industry, whether it’s warehousing, light manufacturing or maybe food production,” Ristow said. “When you get to the western side of the development, over by Highway 75, you can start talking about light retail, things like gas stations.”
Churchill said he fully expects to see development along Highway 34 south of Bellevue with a distinct separation of industrial businesses.
“Industrial are the type of businesses we’ve always envisioned in that area. Sarpy County and Bellevue have always been on the same page,” Churchill said.
“We’re looking at heavy manufacturing, processing industries south of Highway 34. And to the north of Highway 34, towards Offutt Air Force Base, we’ve always kind of looked at warehouse distribution, light manufacturing, light assembly – those types of industries.”
Ristow said job creation along Highway 34 can benefit the Olde Towne area of Bellevue as well.
“If we really do our jobs right of developing that corridor, it should change the traffic pattern significantly in the sense that there’s a lot of light industry jobs that bring a lot of day jobs into the area,” Ristow said. “It’s going to feed multiple corridors, including the downtown area.”
In Plattsmouth, a community that has seen a rebirth of its downtown business district and economic growth along Highway 75 over the past decade, there is tempered optimism about the new bridge.
Just like in Bellevue, community leaders in Plattsmouth expect a decline in traffic on their toll bridge – the most direct link to the downtown business district from Iowa.
At the same time, there’s hope the new bridge will bring more development along Highway 75.
“There’s definitely excitement with all the construction going on, including Highway 75 and the new bridge,” Plattsmouth Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Tabitha Foster said. “There is some concern in Plattsmouth on our toll bridge and how that will get affected. We’re just hoping that people will continue to go through our town and use that bridge, but use the other bridge as well when needed.
“We do hope it increases Highway 75 traffic and creates economic and business growth because that bridge is just north of Plattsmouth. That’s definitely exciting.”
Foster said she expects the new bridge and improvements being made along Highway 75 to change the perception some people have of Plattsmouth and its location south of the Platte River.
“A lot of people think Plattsmouth is just so far away, but between this bridge opening and the construction on 75, we’re hoping that people just start looking at us as being just south of Bellevue – only eight minutes from the edge of Omaha type of thing,” Foster said.
Plattsmouth is also working to create a “destination” identity for its downtown business district, which recently underwent a major face lift.
“Main Street has all been redone. It’s beautiful and we have a lot of things that go on down there that are kind of a hidden treasure,” Foster said. “Our hope and the hope of the merchants on Main Street is maybe the new bridge will take away some of the truck traffic, but keep people still driving through Main Street. Our ultimate goal is for Main Street to become a destination for people, not just something they run into and are excited about.”
Roger Wehrbein, a member of the Plattsmouth Bridge Commission, which owns and maintains the Plattsmouth Toll Bridge, said the impact of the new bridge won’t be known until it opens.
“We’re pretty sure we’re going to lose some business on the toll bridge, especially truck traffic,” Wehrbein said. “It’s a little hard to assess. It will depend on each person’s individual situation.”
Wehrbein said the toll bridge averages about 1,000 vehicles per day, but numbers have varied in recent years as a result of Missouri River flooding in 2011 and construction of a new railroad bridge adjacent to the toll bridge.
The 84-year-old Plattsmouth bridge was restored at a cost of $3.2 million in 2008, adding an additional 20-30 years to the lifespan of the two-lane structure.
The one-way toll for a two-axle vehicle on the Plattsmouth bridge is $1.25, a quarter higher than the rate to cross the toll bridge at Bellevue. Wehrbein said the bridge commission has not discussed changing its toll rate as a result of the new bridge. He added that toll revenue pays for the operation and maintenance of the bridge.