WASHINGTON — Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., said Wednesday he is pressing Federal Highway Administrator Victor Mendez over delays in Nebraska road projects.
"After the Missouri River flooding, we saw how fast I-680 got repaired in Iowa," Nelson said during his weekly conference call with reporters. "So why are the delays being incurred?"
Nelson said even simple projects have not been moving forward. He said the Nebraska Department of Roads provided him with information showing at least 22 road and bridge projects have not even begun, including an Elkhorn River bridge damaged several years ago and a bridge replacement and road repair project in Antelope County.
Nelson said he has asked Mendez for a detailed accounting of each project and the steps it must go through so progress can be tracked. Nelson said if he doesn't see results, he might renew a push to waive environmental review requirements for projects to repair road and bridges damaged by flooding.
Contact the writer:
202-630-4823, joe.morton@owh.com
VIDEO: Time lapse of I-680 reconstruction
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