Nebraska transportation officials expect to spend nearly $15 billion maintaining and improving the state’s highway system over the next 20 years, but it remains unclear how federal infrastructure money will factor into those plans.
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PhotoFiles: Long and winding roads of Nebraska
Muddin'
Whether they be paved, graveled, blacktopped or just plain ol' mud, the roads of Nebraska's past beckon.
Country Mile
Bad road conditions didn't stop a few Sunday motorists from enjoying a country drive in 1977.
Wet Paint
A worker paints center lines on a state highway in 1978.
Necessary Evil
There wouldn't be roads without road work, whatever the inconvenience. And some construction sites, like this one in Lincoln in 1952, are visual marvels of productivity and efficiency.
Dawn 'til Dusk
Highway workers race the approaching dusk to finish improvements to Nebraska 2 in 1964.
Mind the Gap
Bridge crews replace a sagging wooden railroad trestle over a country road near Odell with a steel girder in 1962.
Rollin' Down the Highway
Truckers greatly appreciated renovations to U.S. 136 in 1975.
"Where we're going ...
... we don't need roads." Because when you have an all-terrain swamp buggy with nearly 6-foot-tall wheels, like these highway workers installing observation wells in 1968, the world is your road. The vehicle is pictured in the middle of the Platte River.
Don't Drink and Drive
This 1978 road worker is fine driving over the center line, but if you're going to be out driving at all in the future, try to keep in your lane, and never drink and drive.
Buckle Up
You can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs, and you can't make highway guardrails safer without chucking a few speeding cars at them in controlled tests. This Plymouth Fury never knew what hit it in 1986.
Kickin' up Dust
A motorist throws dust into the fields while out for a country drive in 1993.
In Bloom
Lawrence Patterson of Seward mows the Nebraska 15 right of way about five miles north of Seward in 1995. The department of roads planted the wildflowers two years prior as part of a beautification effort. It worked.
Storms Ahead
Highway 33, looking east at a brewing storm in 1995.
Good Ol' Boys
No, it's not the Duke boys. It's just an American classic kicking up dust on Fletcher Avenue in Lincoln in 1983.
End of the Road
Oh no. I think we took a wrong turn. Oh well. Time to turn around and start all over again. Make sure to check out the next edition of PhotoFiles. You never know where we'll take you.
