North 48th Street’s postponed improvement project is set to resume next Monday, April 8th. Last night, city transportation officials offered an overview on the remaining work and answered community questions during a virtual open house.
The presentation, primarily lead by Lincoln Transportation and Utilities (LTU) Project Delivery Manager Kris Humphrey, walked through the multitude of completed improvements to the University Place neighborhood’s main arterial and remaining work to be completed over the next 12 weeks.
The bulk of the remaining work will focus on N. 48th Street between Leighton and Madison Avenues. This section will undergo resurfacing with new asphalt, repairs to the concrete base, and replacement of curbs and gutters.
Humphrey said the city is committed to maintaining thru traffic to the area by keeping one northbound and one southbound lane of traffic open during construction, from Leighton Ave. to Adams St. This approach, noted on a presentation slide, was not viable during the previous phases of construction. Access to intersecting neighborhood streets will have restrictions in place for safety.
“This is something that we heard from the community,” Humphrey said.
Remaining improvements will proceed in 3 phases.
Phase 1 will resurface the northbound outside lane of N. 48th street. Phase 2 will resurface the northbound and southbound inside lanes. Phase 3 will complete the work by resurfacing the southbound outside lane. The traffic signal on N. 48th and Saint Paul Ave. will be deenergized during project phasing. Visual guides from LTU are available below:
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- Phase 1
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- Phase 2
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- Phase 3
The multi component $8 million project began in spring of 2023. Over a roughly 6 month construction period, LTU crews:
- Replaced an 105-year-old water main that ran just over 1-mile in length, from Leighton Ave. to Gladstone St.
- Resurfaced N. 48th Street from Madison Ave. to Superior St.
- Reconstructed the traffic signal at 48th and Cornhusker Hwy.
- Installed new concrete on N. 48th from Superior St. to Cornhusker Hwy (an unexpected part of the project).
- Made Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) improvements.
- Replaced concrete on N. 48th Greenwood St. to Madison Ave. (required unexpected sidewalk repairs).
- Installed a new pedestrian hybrid beacon on N. 48th and Huntington Ave.
The project became controversial last year, prompting the fall-winter season pause, as swelling road work generally cut off the University Place business strip lining N. 48th Street. One business closed down and others said the limited customer access was a struggle.
As the project is set to restart, LTU hopes to collaborate with area businesses to minimize any negative impact.
“We are very willing to meet with you, one-on-one, and come up with a plan,” said LTU Communications specialist Erika Hill.
Hill listed a variety of marketing tools that LTU is willing to help facilitate for shops on the strip, including area targeting advertising (called “geofencing”), creating and providing graphics to help communicate parking and navigation changes to customers, drafting social media posts with visuals, and “other marketing ideas.”
Hill asks business owners to reach out over email (erhill@lincoln.ne.gov) if interested.
Humphrey added, as new concrete is filled, there will be times where the new pavement must sit and dry before traffic can access the road, so crews may not be constantly engaged in active work during those times.
To view a recording of the open house, or for more information on the N. 48th project, visit lincoln.ne.gov.