Fort Street Closed Between 120th and 132nd for 15-Month Bridge and Road Project
Omaha shut a stretch of Fort Street on Oct. 16 to rebuild a bridge and widen the road, earlier and over a longer span than first planned, drawing complaints from some businesses and drivers.
By Aiko Yamamoto ·
A section of Fort Street in Omaha between 120th and 132nd streets has been closed for a construction project that is expected to last 15 months. The closure took effect Friday, Oct. 16.
The work will rebuild the bridge over Big Papillion Creek, widen the road to four lanes and add sidewalks.
The closure differs from the original plan in two ways. A full shutdown had been scheduled to begin Oct. 26 and was to cover only the area from 120th to 126th streets. The closed stretch now runs from 120th to 132nd streets, and it began ten days ahead of the date some drivers had expected.
That timing contributed to a traffic backup on Friday, Oct. 16, when the city closed Fort Street in both directions. MUD had already closed eastbound traffic earlier in the week, after notifying the public.
The city says it put up signs at 132nd, 129th and 126th streets to tell drivers not to enter the area. Some people who live and work nearby say those signs were not enough.
Todd Hartung, co-owner of Monolithic Brewing, which sits in the middle of the construction zone, said the business learned of the timing on the day itself. "We woke up to the morning to find out that they were shutting it down Friday at 3 p.m.," Hartung said, adding that the notice came less than 24 hours before the closure.
Austin Rowser, the city engineer and assistant director of transportation/public works, said the signs were meant to keep drivers out of the work area. "We need people to obey those signs. And that's not just because we want you to obey. It's because we want to keep you safe," Rowser said.
The city maintains that the signs were in place to warn motorists. It says that despite them, some drivers moved into the wrong lane, which caused Friday's backup. Some drivers and businesses continue to disagree with that account.
For those who need to travel through the area while the project is underway, the city recommends using 132nd Street. Officials say this route helps drivers avoid cutting through neighborhoods.
A correction was added to the original WOWT report. An earlier version had wrongly attributed certain city information to an Omaha metro utility.
Originally published by News Media House · Source: WOWT 6 News
