More than 150 lane miles of Omaha streets will be resurfaced or replaced this year, as the city continues its wide-ranging road resurfacing and repair program.
The 2025 program has a total of 41 projects including 21 major street resurfacing projects, 10 residential project areas comprised of numerous multi-block sections of road, eight reconstruction or concrete-repair projects and two brick-street repair projects. The total estimated cost of $28.6 million.
The Omaha City Council will consider the bids starting in mid-March.
Following voter approval of the $200 million bond issue in 2020, Omaha’s Street Preservation Fund was created specifically for street repair. Since then, more than 800 additional lane miles have been resurfaced or replaced. That’s the equivalent distance of driving from Omaha to Columbus, Ohio.
In 2020, voters also approved a 3.5 percent levy increase to pay debt service on the bonds. However, Mayor Stothert’s administration has not needed to increase the levy, instead actually decreasing the levy approximately 12 percent. The levy is now at its lowest rate since 2010.
“The City of Omaha has never before had a dedicated funding source for a long-term, sustainable road maintenance plan. Instead, we just patched potholes and never caught up,” Stothert said. “I proposed this expanded funding for road repair, so our roads are repaired, maintained and safe for all users.”
Voters approved a second bond issue this past November, allowing the program to continue with an additional $192 million.
Street resurfacing projects are selected based on traffic volume, history of maintenance and related costs, current or upcoming utility work and the condition of the street, using the Pavement Surface Evaluation and Rating (“PACER”) system.
PACER is a national average developed by the University of Wisconsin and uses a 1-to-10 scale to rate street conditions.
The 41 projects are in addition to the traditional capital improvements that include widening two-lane segments for capacity improvements, safety improvements at intersections and other higher-risk corridors, and bridge improvements.
Details about the Street Preservation Fund are available HERE.
The City of Omaha is encouraging citizens to report potholes to the Mayor’s Hotline at 402-444-5555 or hotline@cityofomaha.org. The major temperature swings over the past two weeks have created ideal conditions for potholes to develop.
