Nebraska awarded over $5 million in federal grants to expedite transportation projects

OMAHA — Overlooking Interstate 480 from downtown Omaha Friday, state officials celebrated Nebraska’s receiving $5.15 million in a collection of federal grants aimed at speeding up ongoing transportation projects.

The awards allocated to the Nebraska Department of Transportation include a $1.15 million Regional Infrastructure Accelerator (RIA) Grant to fund the Accelerating Critical Connections for Elevating Livability in Nebraska (ACCEL-NE) Program, $2 million through the Innovative Finance and Asset Concession (IFAC) Program and $2 million awarded with the Omaha-Council Bluffs Metropolitan Area Planning Agency under the Prioritization Process Pilot Program, according to department spokesperson Samantha Bernt.

Sean McMaster, administrator for the Federal Highway Administration, said the goal of the grants is to expedite several major transportation projects in the state, some of which have been ongoing for years and others that have yet to get started. These include development of the Lincoln East Beltway and easing congestion along the bottleneck of Interstate 80 corridor connecting to Interstate 680 and Interstate 480, which McMaster listed as a priority recognized by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

“We are moving quick,” McMaster said. “This unprecedented execution is the fastest and most massive competitive grant delivery in the agency’s modern history, and exceeds the last four years of the last administration.”

McMaster said on the federal side, officials are open to moving at the speeds each state prefers. Later, Pillen said he wants to “put the pedal to the metal,” noting that the longer infrastructure projects take to complete, the more expensive they become.

U.S. Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., was not one of the official speakers at Friday’s conference, but he attended and spoke in support of the grants. He agreed with Pillen’s point that time adds cost to infrastructure projects. He noted that the Pentagon was built in just over a year and said the U.S. should strive to return to similar construction speeds.

“We’ve lost what’s made us great,” Bacon said.

Pillen has repeatedly said he wants to ensure Nebraska gets its fair share of federal aid, and on Friday he touted that during his first term, federal funding to Nebraska rose to $3.5 billion.

Pillen said he wants to change the narrative about Nebraska so that it’s no longer considered a flyover state but a “fly-to state.” He said the grants announced on Friday will be a big piece of accomplishing that.

“It’s a great sign that we are open for business,” Pillen said. “Nobody can compete with us. There’s no better place in the world to live.”