Commissioners Urge Caution Around Roadwork

By Gordon HopkinsThere are a number of major road projects currently in the works that will impact road travel in Jefferson County. Commissioners ask that drivers be aware of construction and drive cautiously. One-and-Six-Year PlanJefferson County Commissioners met with County Engineer Tim Farmer, along with Jason Eyer and Terry Blas of the Highway Department, on Tuesday, April 2, 2024, to review the One-and-Six-Year Road Plan.The Nebraska Board of Public Roads, Classifications, and Standards requires that the Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT), each municipality, and each county within the State develop and file a One-and-Six-Year Plan of highway, road, and street improvements.Endicott Clay Road ProjectThe Endicott Clay Project (ECP), which has been in the works since 2017, is intended to improve road service from the Endicott Clay Products brickyard to Highway 15. The road receives a lot of wear and tear due to trucks coming to and going from the brickyard. The county has decided it is more cost-efficient to construct a new, hard-surface road west of Endicott Clay, rather than repairing the existing road that runs east from Endicott Clay Products.Highway Department staff have been reaching out to residents in the area that may be impacted by the construction. Blas told commissioners, “I was out on the ECP last night, catching everybody at home that I could.” Steele City RoadA meeting was held at the Steele City Town Hall the evening of Thursday, March 28, 2024, to inform locals what they can expect when construction begins on the road between Steele City and the Kansas state line.Commissioner Mark Schoenrock reported, “We had a very successful Steel City public information meeting last Thursday evening. It was well attended. I think we had pretty much everybody who is going to be affected by the project.”The road was severely damaged after the Keystone Pipeline oil spill at Mill Creek in Kansas, in December of 2022. TC Energy, the company formerly known as TransCanada, had more than 100 trucks driving between Steele City and the oil spill site for several months.In addition to motorists, residents will be inconvenienced in other ways. For example, mailboxes will have to be temporarily relocated. Blas said, “We talked about mailbox placement, and all that good stuff. Everybody seemed to be okay with it.” Bridge Over Little Blue RiverThere is also construction not being performed by the county but may still have an impact on county motorists.There is a new bridge currently under construction on Highway 15, south of Fairbury, that passes over the Little Blue River. It is being built just east of the original bridge, which is still usable at this time, so no detour is require.This is not a Jefferson County project but a Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT) project. Tallgrass PipelineTallgrass Energy has begun work in Jefferson County on laying the approximately 20 miles of 36-inch pipe that will make up the Rockies Express natural gas pipeline that will span from Wyoming to Ohio, traversing much of Nebraska, including through the northern part of Jefferson County.While the county is not participating in the construction, commissioners and the Highway Department are closely monitoring the activity.At a previous meeting on March 26, commissioners spoke with a representative of Tallgrass.“We’ve had a little bit of an issue yesterday, with the pipeline company, actually blading the gravel off of our road,” said Commissioner Gale Pohlmann. “With all the traffic, they were really tearing up the road.”Pohlmann said, “First of all, they never had permission to do that. The permit for our right-of-way is to go under the road, not to gravel our roads or grade our roads.”Tallgrass representatives have assured commissioners that the roads will be returned to their original or better condition. However, the roads still need to be used by motorists while the construction is going on.“So, we’ve debated whether we should just say that, if you need stuff done, as far as on the road itself, you contact us, and we will decide when it’s dry enough to do it,” said Pohlmann. “And I know you’re not going to be happy with that. But if we don’t get some better cooperation, why, that’s what we’re going to have to do.”

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