| The City of Lincoln has retained Kirkham Michael to design a viaduct over the Burlington Northern & Santa Fe (BNSF) Railroad corridor located approximately ½ mile south of “O” Street. The project also includes constructing a new bridge across Middle Creek. The project would improve the area transportation network.
Travel was previously discouraged along SW 40th Street, between “O” Street and “A” Street, due to the amount of time that the BNSF Railroad crossing was blocked by rail traffic, approximately 40% of the time. The crossing was closed as of August 15, 2005 for railroad construction.
The BNSF projects a steady increase of 5% per year in train activity, and the trend is for trains to increase in length. The elimination of the at-grade railroad crossing on SW 40th Street provides safety, operational, and security benefits to the BNSF Railroad by providing a six-mile uninterrupted corridor on its mainline tracks.
Kirkham Michael and the City are working on the Final Design and Construction Plans for the viaduct portion of the project. Those plans are anticipated to be complete midsummer 2008. Construction of the bridge and viaduct is anticipated to begin Spring 2010 provided that all agreements and funding are in place. SW 40th Street will reopen to traffic with a new viaduct in place around late 2011.
Improvements to the bridge across Middle Creek are also necessary. The bridge is currently rated as deficient, with a sufficiency rating of 35.7 and a posted weight limit of nine tons. Structures that rate below 50 are considered strong candidates for major rehabilitation or replacement.
The purpose of this project is to improve the area transportation network by reducing the delay and extra travel due to the at-grade BNSF railroad crossing, along with serving the existing and future travel demands, and improving the safety of the traveling public along SW 40th Street in Lincoln. The goals are listed below:
- Enhance the safety of the public and the railroad
- Improve the operation of the area transportation system for its users by eliminating the delay at the BNSF rail crossing through construction of a grade separation over the railroad tracks
- Replace the deficient county bridge over Middle Creek
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