Long awaited Fifth Street Road Project construction funds approved by Logan County

 

[December 09, 2020] 

At Logan County’s November Regular Board meeting, board members approved funds to construct the western portion of Fifth Street Road. Road plans have reconfigured the roadway to be straighter, wider, and safer with the county work to be done between 700th Ave, commonly known as Rocky Ford Road, extending to 100th Avenue, known as the Middletown/New Holland Blacktop. The project has been on the blackboard since before the turn of the century and creates a gateway to Lincoln, better access to Interstate 55, and potential for business development.

According to a report made by Logan County Engineer Bret Aukamp in May of this year, “Six miles of roadway will be re-constructed on a new alignment. The road will have a wider surface, wide shoulders, and new culverts. Because the roadway will be completely re-constructed, through traffic will not be able to use the road during the project.

The Fifth Street Road project has been high on the list in both of Logan County’s economic development steering guides - the Comprehensive Plan and the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS.)

“The Fifth Street Road project has been part of the county’s long-term transportation plan for many years. With the help of Liberty Power and the Sugar Creek wind farm, the Logan County Board is able to leverage funding from a private developer to help complete this project. Although traffic will be disrupted during the construction, the county is fortunate to have this opportunity to complete the project.”

Through business and subdivision development over the past 20 years, the city of Lincoln has become responsible for most of the roadway between Lincoln Parkway to Interstate 55. Lincoln has been working toward covering costs and acquiring right-of-ways for reconstruction of its segment of Fifth Street Road. A link to the city’s last noted progress is provided below this article. It has remained high on the city’s list of roadwork to accomplish.

An estimated three to four miles currently under county jurisdiction would remain to be developed to connect the city and county segments.

At the November Regular Board session, members approved appropriating $4.3 million for construction of the western section of the Fifth Street Road Project.

Logan County Engineer Bret Aukamp said the funding will come from motor fuel tax and a $2 million donation from Liberty Power, who owns the Sugar Creek Wind Farm project.

Aukamp expects to have last details completed in early 2021, “which would allow us to be under construction in the spring.”

According to Aukamp, the preliminary design engineering began in 1996 when Hanson Professional Services, Springfield was selected as the engineering consultant. A combination of Motor Fuel Tax funds and local property tax funds has been used to pay $500,099 in design costs. Some of that initial design included environmental reviews on the entire Fifth Street corridor, including the section near Lincoln.

In 2007, Logan County was awarded $324,500 of federal funds from the Highway Safety Improvement Program. That money was used to replace several of the culverts that were safety hazards. This grant required a 10% local match from Logan County.

Additional Right-of-Way was needed along the six miles slated for construction. Logan County worked with more than 40 landowners to acquire 22.6 acres of Right-of-Way. A total of $267,085 from the Motor Fuel Tax fund was used to acquire this land. Since the land was acquired in 2012, the landowners have been allowed to continue farming the land until it is needed for construction.

“After so much investment over the past 25 years, it is exciting to see this project finally being able to move forward, Aukamp said.

"This is the first phase of the Fifth Street corridor improvement and one of the largest projects undertaken by the Highway Department. The Sugar Creek Wind Farm development provided the opportunity for a public-private partnership to accomplish a shared goal. We are looking forward to providing a safer and stronger roadway that will eventually connect to the west side of Lincoln."

[Jan Youngquist]

Related 2020 articles:

Logan County moving forward with rural Fifth Street Road project

http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2020/
Mar/20/NEWS/today_county
5.shtml

The city of Lincoln continues to work earnestly on the portions of the roadway located between the Route 66 Parkway and Interstate 55 that are in the city limits.

Engineering firms attempt to clean up confusion over Fifth Street Road project