Mayors Draft Letter Urging Action On Nebraska Highways
A group of Nebraska mayors are urging the state to act on a promise made decades ago to finish Nebraska's expressway system.
By News Channel Nebraska
NORFOLK - A group of Nebraska mayors are urging the state to act on a promise made decades ago to finish Nebraska's expressway system.
Norfolk Mayor Josh Moenning drafted the letter signed by 20 other mayors. It expresses frustration at the lack of expressways in much of the state, despite a plan drafted by the state in 1988 to create over 600 miles of four-lane highways.
To date, only about two-thirds of that highway system has been completed.
In the letter, Moenning says the amount of time taken to beef up the state's highway system has cost billions.
The entirety of the expressway plan carried a 200 million-dollar price tag 32 years ago. Today, the work will end up costing the state around two billion dollars.
In the letter, the mayors proposed using bonding as a solution to get the work done. Nebraska is one of just two states that doesn't allow bonding at the state level.
When asked about the letter on Wednesday, Governor Pete Ricketts said Wednesday that he is against bonding.
READ THE FULL STATEMENT BELOW: