Grow Omaha
Transportation

Mainline track construction – it’s going to get rail!Streetcar Mainline Track Construction Ultimately Results in System Testing, Such as in Kansas City, August 2025Mainline track construction for the Omaha Streetcar has officially started! So, what does that mean – how will this construction be different from the utility work that has been going on, how long does this take, and when do we first see rail in the street? This article will cover all of these items with the help of graphics and photos from other cities that recently went through streetcar construction. First, an update on the overall process, as shown in the graphic above. This year will see the most activity on the streetcar route as we start mainline track construction, wrap up utility work and continue work on the Streetcar Maintenance Facility and rebuild the Farnam Street bridge! Mainline track construction is the process of putting the rails in the ground, including preparing the surface that the track will rest on....

Looking West at Turner and Farnam Photo Courtesy of Kevin Westhues, WOWTThis column has previously covered streetcar utility work in general, so let’s take a look at one crucial project in particular: the Turner Boulevard water main improvement. A lot is going on at Turner Boulevard: the streetcar tracks that share Farnam Street will split with the eastbound heading off to Harney Street and the westbound track coming from Farnam Street. There will be a streetcar stop here on Farnam between 31st and Turner. And this is where eastbound streetcars will raise their pantographs (the mechanism above the car that contacts the overhead wire) to connect with the energy system and charge the batteries on the vehicles. Streetcar trains will literally be able to turn at Turner Boulevard. There will be a “wye” constructed here, which will allow streetcars to turn around from west to east. This special track gives the streetcar operation flexibility and allows the system to have continuous...

The Streetcar Project Initiates the Reconstruction of Essential Bridge StructuresHarney Street Bridge After Reconstruction – Streetcar Tracks Will Be on the RightThe streetcar guideway – the track – is the essential part of the project. It is how the vehicles travel throughout the corridor, which gives passengers a reliable mobility option and provides property owners and developers with the promise of continued high-quality transit service through the permanency of the rails. Therefore, what the tracks rest on is equally, if not more, important; it is the base that supports the track guideway. This is the primary reason the project is going to such great lengths to replace, move and improve the underground utilities. However, not all of the streetcar route rests directly on the ground, there are three bridges traversed by the corridor: 10th Street over the Gene Leahy Mall (between Douglas and Farnam) as well as Farnam and Harney streets over Interstate 480. The new Harney Street...

How our streetcars will combat the ice and snowKC Streetcar Operating in a Recent Snowstorm Photo Courtesy of Tom GerendI tout rail transit as the “all-weather mode” – that is, a mobility option that passengers can rely on no matter what the weather. Just like how Herodotus in The Histories described the courier service of the ancient Persian Empire, “neither by snow nor rain nor heat nor darkness from accomplishing their appointed course with all speed." The high reliability stems from the robust system, it consists of hefty vehicles operating with steel wheels on steel rails. Streetcars can make it through some of the worst conditions on the streets. The two main priorities during inclement weather are keeping the cars running through ice and snow and getting passengers safely to and from the rail stops. Reliability on the Rails A common question that I get is how do we keep the trains running in the ice and snow? The easy answer is to continue running the trains through the bad...

The Omaha Streetcar Authority is hosting an open house to share updated information about ongoing utility relocations, upcoming track construction and other information on the new transit service. The open house will be on Thursday, December 11, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m at the Durham Museum. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn about the project and ask questions of the construction team. There will be no formal presentation, and registration is not required. Attendees can visit anytime between 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. The open house displays will be located “trackside” on the lower level of the museum in the Trish and Dick Davidson Gallery. The Durham Museum is home to one of two known remaining former Omaha and Council Bluffs Street Railway cars – Number 1014, which is displayed on the lower level. This car was built in 1919 at the 24th & Ames car barn. After retirement from passenger service in 1955, car 1014 spent time as a cabin at the Twin Brooks Bible Camp north of Omaha....

A deeper look at how Omaha’s streetcars will operate half the route off-wirePhoto of a Charlotte Streetcar Off-WireAs discussed in a previous Grow Omaha article, Omaha’s streetcar vehicles take advantage of some of the latest technology in rail transit. At the core, the streetcar vehicle is a solid piece of transit mobility that has been around for about 150 years. Over that time, there have been myriad changes and improvements to make streetcars one of the most high-tech transport vehicles out there. This article focuses on a key technology component of the Omaha vehicles: the ability to operate without being connected to an overhead wire – in essence, cutting the cord. The Omaha Streetcar Authority (OSA) is having six new streetcar vehicles built by Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (known as CAF) to provide service on the Harney/Farnam corridor, planned to begin in the Fall of 2028. The 10-minute service most of the day will require four cars, with two spares used for...

This column has previously covered streetcar utility work in general, so let’s take a look at a critically important upcoming project: the 38th & Farnam Street area. The top priority of streetcar construction work is to limit the impacts of construction as much as possible for the nearby businesses and residents. One of the keys is to keep Farnam Street open as much as possible. However, for this project, a complete closure for a small amount of time will actually reduce longer-term impacts. In this case, it will be necessary to completely close Farnam Street between 37th Street and 38th Avenue (just west of 38th Street) for almost four weeks. This closure begins Monday, October 20.The complete closure will enable the project to be finished faster. A partial closure of Farnam Street in this area would have meant dealing with reduced accessibility for over three times as long. There will be two options to move through the area during this time: Dodge Street to the north and Dewey...

Construction wraps up on the Kansas City Main Street extension as cars are testing the full serviceAs underground utility improvement work continues on the Omaha streetcar corridor, we still have another three years of various forms of construction, including the long-anticipated mainline track construction that will begin in early 2026. Since mainline construction starts soon, it is a good time to take a look at other streetcar systems that have recently been under construction to see what businesses along the lines have done to get through the challenging time and into the more rewarding service opening. We can then use some of these good practices from other cities in Omaha (or maybe we already are), and this will also give us a better idea of what is coming down the track. Streetcar construction has different impacts to communities compared to other forms of transit. One thing in common among all types of transit construction are the stops or stations, which is how people get on...