By MICHELLE ZLOMKEChief Managing Editor
Delays continue to daunt drivers on Highway 70 east of Broken Bow, but conditions should improve in about six weeks.
Gary Thayer, district manager with the Nebraska Department of Roads said the resurfacing portion of the project should conclude before summer ends.
“The inconvenience to drivers should be done by mid-August,” Thayer said.
Currently, traffic is limited to one-way on portions where crews are working, with lines of cars waiting for a lead car to take them down the available lane.
The 13-mile project started this spring as crews started grinding the existing asphalt surface, Thayer said.
“We call it a full-depth reclamation,” Thayer said.
Once the surface is ground, fly ash composite is added and compacted. When that is complete, crews resurface the road with asphalt, Thayer said.
Thayer said Paulsen, Inc. is the primary contractor for the project.
Work will continue on the road after resurfacing is complete, Thayer said, as work crews re-build curbs and flumes for water run-off.
“We’re replacing all the curbs and flumes to help with erosion control,” he said. “The flume work will take quite a bit of time to accomplish.”
However, that portion of the project will not require one-way traffic, he said.
Thayer said the department of roads asks drivers to exercise caution in the construction area.
“We ask people to drive carefully and be aware of the surface of the road,” he said. “And we suggest use of an alternate route where possible.”