Hastings staff outlines 1- and 6‑year street improvement plan, bids due for hike‑and‑bike project
August 19, 2025 | Hastings City, Adams County, Nebraska
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Lee (staff member) presented the Hastings Planning Commission with the city’s proposed 1‑ and 6‑year street improvement plan on Tuesday, laying out projects planned for completion this calendar year and larger projects included in the 2025–26 budget.
The plan lists two paving districts (Elm Meadows and Laughlin Meadows), concrete repair on Laird Avenue (Ninth to Eleventh), Woodland Avenue, D Street near Brickyard Park, curb and gutter work on Chicago Avenue (E to F) and Lincoln Avenue (Burlington Northern tracks to South Street). "That project is in conjunction with the hike and bike trail," Lee said of the E Street repaving, adding that bids for the trail/street work are open now and that the city will ask contractors not to start work on E Street before winter.
Lee said five of seven quiet crossing installations are complete and that Colorado and Elm Avenue remain to be designed and bid; the city must finish paperwork and have the Federal Railroad Administration review it before a quiet zone can be established. He also described a Central Hastings drainage improvement design that includes a detention cell and storm‑sewer work; the design is grant‑funded but the larger construction depends on a funding source, with a hazard mitigation grant described as a potential program that could cover about 75 percent of costs.
On corridor work, Lee described a Twelfth Street restriping concept that would create a three‑lane section with a center turn lane and dedicated turn lanes at Burlington to reduce driver confusion at the intersection. He also said planned intersection improvements at Laird and Crane avenues would add left‑turn lanes, but staff asked engineering consultant JEO to model storm sewer capacity first because flooding occurs at that intersection.
Lee said the Hastings Southeast project is progressing with utility relocation and right‑of‑way work; the state is expected to bid the project this fall with construction scheduled 2026–2028. "That is an 80/20 cost share, so the city does pick up 20% of that cost," he said.
Commissioners asked for timing and next steps. Planning Commissioner Jody Stutzman asked for an approximate timeline for the trail/street work; Lee said bids are opening next week and some work on railroad right‑of‑way segments could begin this year depending on contractor availability. Planning Commissioner Chuck Rosenberg asked staff to request a traffic warrant reexamination from the state for turn signals at Twelfth and Seventh streets; Lee said the project will be set up to accommodate signals if future traffic studies warrant them.
No formal action or vote on the street program was taken at the meeting; the presentation was provided for commission review and questions.
The plan lists two paving districts (Elm Meadows and Laughlin Meadows), concrete repair on Laird Avenue (Ninth to Eleventh), Woodland Avenue, D Street near Brickyard Park, curb and gutter work on Chicago Avenue (E to F) and Lincoln Avenue (Burlington Northern tracks to South Street). "That project is in conjunction with the hike and bike trail," Lee said of the E Street repaving, adding that bids for the trail/street work are open now and that the city will ask contractors not to start work on E Street before winter.
Lee said five of seven quiet crossing installations are complete and that Colorado and Elm Avenue remain to be designed and bid; the city must finish paperwork and have the Federal Railroad Administration review it before a quiet zone can be established. He also described a Central Hastings drainage improvement design that includes a detention cell and storm‑sewer work; the design is grant‑funded but the larger construction depends on a funding source, with a hazard mitigation grant described as a potential program that could cover about 75 percent of costs.
On corridor work, Lee described a Twelfth Street restriping concept that would create a three‑lane section with a center turn lane and dedicated turn lanes at Burlington to reduce driver confusion at the intersection. He also said planned intersection improvements at Laird and Crane avenues would add left‑turn lanes, but staff asked engineering consultant JEO to model storm sewer capacity first because flooding occurs at that intersection.
Lee said the Hastings Southeast project is progressing with utility relocation and right‑of‑way work; the state is expected to bid the project this fall with construction scheduled 2026–2028. "That is an 80/20 cost share, so the city does pick up 20% of that cost," he said.
Commissioners asked for timing and next steps. Planning Commissioner Jody Stutzman asked for an approximate timeline for the trail/street work; Lee said bids are opening next week and some work on railroad right‑of‑way segments could begin this year depending on contractor availability. Planning Commissioner Chuck Rosenberg asked staff to request a traffic warrant reexamination from the state for turn signals at Twelfth and Seventh streets; Lee said the project will be set up to accommodate signals if future traffic studies warrant them.
No formal action or vote on the street program was taken at the meeting; the presentation was provided for commission review and questions.
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