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Nebraska State Highway System
The Nebraska State Highway System consists of all the state highways in Nebraska maintained by the Nebraska Department of Transportation. This includes federally designated Interstates and US Highways as well as state highways, links and spurs. The system comprises 9,942 miles (16,000 km) of state highways in all 93 counties. Highways within the system range in scale and quality from 10-lane urban freeways, such as I-80 around Omaha, to standard two-lane rural undivided highways as well as 39 miles (63 km) of state highways that remain unpaved such as N-67 north of Dunbar. Surrounding landscapes along the highway system range from the urban areas in Omaha and Lincoln to scenic journeys through uninhabited grasslands in the Nebraska Sandhills.
Prior to the state highways, travel across Nebraska was accomplished via foot and wagon trails. The Oregon Trail, a historic wheeled wagon route that ran from Illinois to Oregon runs through Nebraska from the Kansas border near Fairbury then north to the Platte River which it follows west into Wyoming. The Mormon Trail is a 1,300-mile (2,100 km) route that members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints traveled from 1846 to 1868 which also generally follows the Platte River from Omaha to Wyoming. The Pony Express National Historic Trail stretches across Nebraska from near Fairbury, NE north to the Platte River then west along the river to Wyoming with a detour near Julesburg.
Responsibility for general improvements to roads mostly fell to the counties of Nebraska. In 1926, the Nebraska Bureau of Roads and Bridges began erecting route markers along highways, the first of which contained the famous covered wagon emblem, developed by State Engineer Robert Cochran, that is still in use today. Over the next couple of decades the state struggled with continued maintenance of the existing highway system and stagnant funding as well as difficulty procuring necessary materials with the onset of World War II.
In 1950s, the passage of the Federal Aid Highway Act which established the Interstate Highway System provided an infusion of funding to Nebraska and allowed it to construct new highways as part of the new system. This included Interstate 80 which travels 455 miles (732 km) across the state. Completed in 1974 at a cost of $390 million (equivalent to $1.92 billion in 2024), Nebraska was the first state in the nation to complete its mainline contribution to the interstate system.
There are six different types of highways maintained by NDOT as part of the overall state highway system. In addition to Interstates, U.S. Routes, and State Highways the state also maintains a system of Link and Spur highways as well as Recreational Roads.
Spurs serve as connections between rural communities and the mainline highways. An example of this includes Nebraska Spur 14C which connects the small rural town of Magnet to Nebraska Highway 59. Links serve as connections between other mainline highways, providing access to rural communities and as alternative paths between highways. An example of this includes Nebraska Link 10B which connects US 30 and Interstate 80 near the town of Odessa. These highways are named with a number and letter combination that indicates the order of addition of that route within a particular county or region.
Recreational Roads are part of the state highway system. They are designated by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, but maintenance is provided by NDOT. They are usually not signed and are not included in the official Nebraska highway route log unless they intersect another state highway.
The need for appropriate signage on state highways had been apparent in the early 1920s, but Nebraska held off until the development of a national standard. In 1925, the American Association of State Highway Officials adopted standard designs for signs. The following year the Nebraska Department of Public Works began placing numbered markers along the state highways. The state adopted a 15-inch diamond, black-on-white text with the image of a covered wagon occupying the top half and the route number on the bottom half, a design created by State Engineer Robert L. Cochran. The oxen-and-wagon symbol later became the official state symbol of Nebraska. The modern version of the route markers are square or rectangular with a white trapezoidal field set on a black background with the state name, route number and covered wagon design in black.
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Nebraska State Highway System
The Nebraska State Highway System consists of all the state highways in Nebraska maintained by the Nebraska Department of Transportation. This includes federally designated Interstates and US Highways as well as state highways, links and spurs. The system comprises 9,942 miles (16,000 km) of state highways in all 93 counties. Highways within the system range in scale and quality from 10-lane urban freeways, such as I-80 around Omaha, to standard two-lane rural undivided highways as well as 39 miles (63 km) of state highways that remain unpaved such as N-67 north of Dunbar. Surrounding landscapes along the highway system range from the urban areas in Omaha and Lincoln to scenic journeys through uninhabited grasslands in the Nebraska Sandhills.
Prior to the state highways, travel across Nebraska was accomplished via foot and wagon trails. The Oregon Trail, a historic wheeled wagon route that ran from Illinois to Oregon runs through Nebraska from the Kansas border near Fairbury then north to the Platte River which it follows west into Wyoming. The Mormon Trail is a 1,300-mile (2,100 km) route that members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints traveled from 1846 to 1868 which also generally follows the Platte River from Omaha to Wyoming. The Pony Express National Historic Trail stretches across Nebraska from near Fairbury, NE north to the Platte River then west along the river to Wyoming with a detour near Julesburg.
Responsibility for general improvements to roads mostly fell to the counties of Nebraska. In 1926, the Nebraska Bureau of Roads and Bridges began erecting route markers along highways, the first of which contained the famous covered wagon emblem, developed by State Engineer Robert Cochran, that is still in use today. Over the next couple of decades the state struggled with continued maintenance of the existing highway system and stagnant funding as well as difficulty procuring necessary materials with the onset of World War II.
In 1950s, the passage of the Federal Aid Highway Act which established the Interstate Highway System provided an infusion of funding to Nebraska and allowed it to construct new highways as part of the new system. This included Interstate 80 which travels 455 miles (732 km) across the state. Completed in 1974 at a cost of $390 million (equivalent to $1.92 billion in 2024), Nebraska was the first state in the nation to complete its mainline contribution to the interstate system.
There are six different types of highways maintained by NDOT as part of the overall state highway system. In addition to Interstates, U.S. Routes, and State Highways the state also maintains a system of Link and Spur highways as well as Recreational Roads.
Spurs serve as connections between rural communities and the mainline highways. An example of this includes Nebraska Spur 14C which connects the small rural town of Magnet to Nebraska Highway 59. Links serve as connections between other mainline highways, providing access to rural communities and as alternative paths between highways. An example of this includes Nebraska Link 10B which connects US 30 and Interstate 80 near the town of Odessa. These highways are named with a number and letter combination that indicates the order of addition of that route within a particular county or region.
Recreational Roads are part of the state highway system. They are designated by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, but maintenance is provided by NDOT. They are usually not signed and are not included in the official Nebraska highway route log unless they intersect another state highway.
The need for appropriate signage on state highways had been apparent in the early 1920s, but Nebraska held off until the development of a national standard. In 1925, the American Association of State Highway Officials adopted standard designs for signs. The following year the Nebraska Department of Public Works began placing numbered markers along the state highways. The state adopted a 15-inch diamond, black-on-white text with the image of a covered wagon occupying the top half and the route number on the bottom half, a design created by State Engineer Robert L. Cochran. The oxen-and-wagon symbol later became the official state symbol of Nebraska. The modern version of the route markers are square or rectangular with a white trapezoidal field set on a black background with the state name, route number and covered wagon design in black.