NDOT And Engineers View PWF Road
By Gordon Hopkins
Jefferson County Commissioner met with representatives of the Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT) and the Engineering firm, Olsson and Associates, on Wednesday, March 26, to discuss the long-delayed completion of the PWF (Pawnee City, Wymore, Fairbury) Road. The meeting was held at the Diller Community Building and included a trip to the road, itself. Also in attendance were assistant highway superintendent Terry Blas and Jefferson County engineer Tim Farmer of Speece Lewis.
The meeting was originally scheduled for the week prior but was postponed due to weather.
Jefferson County Commissioner Mark Schoenrock discussed the matter the day before at the regular commissioners meeting, “We’ll have people coming from Omaha, Lincoln and Denver (Colorado).”
“It’s a site visit. We’re going to have the team together there in the building, discuss where we’re at on the project, and then we’re actually going to get eyes on the road. A lot of our team members have not actually seen the road, so I’m glad to have everybody come to see it,” said Schoenrock, who hosted U.S. Senator Deb Fischer last fall and took her out to the see the road in person. Senator Fischer and U.S. Representative Adrian Smith were instrumental in obtaining federal funding for the road project.
Jefferson County have been trying for years to obtain funding to the remaining seven miles of construction of the PWF road. The initial six miles was paid for by the county and completed in 2016 but was not able to afford to complete construction.
That seven-mile section of PWF Road encompassed by the project is made of 30-year-old asphalt that varies in depth between five to 10 inches, much of which is patched with cement. It is full of potholes and lacks guard rails.
While the county will continue to patch potholes and other damage, the condition of the road is such that the speed limit has been reduced from 55 to 40 miles per hours. That speed reduction will remain in place until work on the road is completed.
The total estimated cost for the PWF project is $12.8 million. Jefferson County will be receiving $8.5 million toward that total cost from federal sources. The rest will likely be paid for by issuing a bond, which the county has authority to do without a public vote.
Environmental scientists were also present for the meeting. While funding is now in place, the project cannot be completed until an environmental study is done. The necessity of that environmental study has been a frustration for the commissioners. Such a study was completed in 2016 for the entire 14-mile length of road NDOT insisted on a new study, which is being conducted by Olssen and Associates.
“They’re trying to find ways to expedite the project, the various studies and such that are required under all the different laws that govern this,” said Schoenrock. “So, I think we’ve got people focused in the right direction. Not to cut any corners and make sure we’re doing anything correctly, but to make sure we’re doing it as quickly as possible.”
