Strategic Goals

 

• Asset Management

• Communication, Coordination, Collaboration, & Cooperation

• Environmental Stewardship

• Fiscal Responsibility

• Mobility

• Project Delivery

• Safety

• Workforce Development

 

 

Questions? 

 

Ryan Balluck

Government Affairs Manager

402-479-3791

ryan.balluck@nebraska.gov

 

 

Additional Resources

 

To view NDOT contacts, click here. 

To view NDOT reports, click here. 

 

At the Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT), our mission is to deliver a reliable and efficient transportation system that facilitates the movement of people and goods across the state. 

 

Central to this mission is our commitment to promoting safety, enhancing mobility, and driving economic growth to improve the quality of life for all Nebraskans and visitors. Nebraska’s transportation system supports a $25 billion agricultural industry, ensuring farm products reach processing plants and global markets. Nearly $2.5 billion in exports rely on Nebraska’s infrastructure annually, including agricultural and industrial goods.

   

NDOT has been serving the state’s transportation needs since its founding in 1950 as the Department of Roads. Originally focused on road construction and maintenance, NDOT has expanded over the decades to encompass all facets of transportation across Nebraska, including our state's highway system, aeronautics, and public transportation.

 

The state's highway system carries over 63% of all vehicle miles traveled, supporting 83.7% of heavy truck traffic in the state. Municipal streets carry 25.6% and the county road network carries 10.9%. The Department's goal is to preserve the billions of dollars Nebraskans have invested in their state highway system by ensuring highways are safe, efficient, and maintained in a timely, cost-effective manner.

 

In 2017, the Department of Roads merged with the Department of Aeronautics, creating today’s NDOT—a unified agency that addresses Nebraska’s evolving infrastructure and transportation needs, from highways and rural roads to airports and public transit.

 

 

NDOT’s Infrastructure Network

   

• Nearly 10,000 miles of public roads;

• More than 3,500 bridges;

• 599 buildings in 119 locations;

• A fleet of over 2,100 cars, pickups, trucks and graders;

• Supports the state’s 78 public-use airports, maintaining three state-owned airfields;

• Supports 59 rural transit systems and nearly 90 organizations serving elderly and disabled residents. 

NDOT has been serving the state’s transportation needs since its founding in 1950 as the Department of Roads. Originally focused on road construction and maintenance, NDOT has expanded over the decades to encompass all facets of transportation across Nebraska, including our state's highway system, aeronautics, and public transportation.

 

Our operations are managed through eight field districts, each responsible for the maintenance and construction of state highways within their region. The services we provide directly impact the communities we serve and call home. We are dedicated to ensuring everyone can experience the freedom and safety of traveling throughout the great state of Nebraska. 

 

View NDOT projects in legislative districts here. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yearly Budgeted Expenditures

 

Year-to-year, NDOT budgeted expenditures are generally:

• Maintenance Program: $150 million (snow removal, patching, striping)

• Construction Program: $600+ million (preservation, new projects)

• Support Services & Administration: $50 million

• Public transit, rail planning, and safety programs: $35 million

 

The Fiscal Year 2025 Nebraska Surface Transportation Program book specifies how the Department plans to preserve and modernize existing assets, increase safety of the transportation system and expand capacity of the network.  

 

Nebraska's Long Range Transportation Plan provides a vision for transportation development 20 years into the future. State, local and tribal agencies, transportation organizations, as well as the public were involved. The LRTP is updated every 5 to 7 years. 

  

The state highway system carries nearly 65 percent of the state’s traffic and connects our communities to key local and regional economic hubs. Each year, NDOT provides an annual assessment of the state highway system, highlighting validated needs and its efforts to preserve, modernize and improve state managed transportation assets. The assessment provides a look into how transportation investments translate into meeting the projected 20-year needs of Nebraska’s 10,000 miles of highways and 3,500 bridges.

 

The State Highway Needs Assessment also serves as a historical record, comparing year-by-year how costs have and are anticipated to evolve. Over the next 20 years, the highway system’s estimated needs total $16.9 billion in today’s dollars—or $24.3 billion when adjusted for 2045. This translates to an average annual need of $844 million. In comparison, NDOT’s 2025 Program of new projects is set to deliver approximately $700 million in contract value. This creates a nearly $150 million gap between the projected needs and current investment levels. This shortfall impacts our ability to preserve and modernize the existing system and to deliver future projects that support growth and address increasing traffic demands.

 

 

How NDOT Manages Assets

 

NDOT uses a Pavement Management System to inspect and rate highway conditions annually. Pavement lifespan ranges from 15 to 30 years, requiring NDOT to resurface about 500 miles of highway each year to maintain quality and safety.

 

• The fleet is inspected and rated annually. The asset management system tracks all repairs and usage, all equipment is assigned a life cycle that includes age, maximum usage in hours and miles and percent of repair cost to purchase cost. A report is generated annually each piece of equipment that has met its useful life cycle for replacement dependent on available funding.

• All buildings are inspected annually and rated for condition and functionality by a District team. Those buildings rated low or non-functional are presented to a Capitol Facilities scoping committee for ranking and possible inclusion into the building remodel, addition or replacement program based upon available funding.

• All bridges in Nebraska are safety inspected every two years and their conditions are assessed based on Federal Standards. The condition information is used by the Bridge Management Section to determine cost-effective strategies to keep bridges in good repair. The necessary work may include preservation, repair, maintenance, e-decking, rehabilitation or replacement.

 

 

 

 

NDOT's Revenue Sources

 

Nebraska’s state highway system is paid for by a mix of state and federal funds. State funds primarily come in the form of highway user taxes and fees. The three major sources of revenue are:

 

(1) motor fuel tax,

(2) motor vehicle registrations and related fees, and

(3) sales tax on motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers.

 

Nebraska’s major highway user revenue is shared between the state, counties and cities.  Additionally, NDOT receives funding from motor vehicle registration fees and vehicle sales tax (53.3% to NDOT and 23.3% each to cities and counties) and Aviation fuel taxes provide revenue to support the Aeronautics Division.

 

Additional Funding Streams

 

Build Nebraska Act (BNA)

The Build Nebraska Act (BNA), enacted in 2011, dedicates ¼ cent of general state sales tax receipts for expansion of the expressway system, federally designated high priority corridors, and preservation of the existing transportation system.

 

Transportation Innovation Act (TIA)

The Transportation Innovation Act (TIA), enacted in April 2016, directed NDOT’s share of the revenue generated by LB610 (2015) and authorized new programs and tools to increase mobility, freight, economic growth and safety in Nebraska. The purpose of TIA is to accelerate highway capital improvement, promote innovative solutions for deficient county bridges, and help finance transportation improvements that connect new and growing businesses.

 

Federal funding for transportation projects often operates on an 80/20 match structure, where 80% of the funding is federally reimbursed after the state invests its 20% share. This means NDOT must initially use state funds to cover project costs before receiving federal reimbursement. Allocating state funds effectively is essential to meeting these requirements and fully leveraging available federal grants to support infrastructure development.

 

To see how money flows to the NDOT from our various funding sources, click here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     

Responsibilities

 

Motor Vehicle Infrastructure

 

The Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT) is responsible for the state highway system. This includes:

• Planning

• Development

• Design

• Construction

• Maintenance

• Administration

The goals of the Department are to preserve the $8 billion state highway system, making the highways safe and efficient, and accomplishing this in a timely and cost-effective manner.

 

Aviation/Aeronautics:

  

• Maintains a system of 78 public use airports across the state, nine of them offering airline service and three owned and operated by NDOT;

• Works with the FAA to target federal grant funding at the projects that will provide the greatest benefit to the National Airspace System; and

• Provides services to airport commissions to help them plan, design, maintain, and improve infrastructure and to maximize the federal funding coming to Nebraska.

   

Rural Transit Assistance Program

 

There are 59 rural systems and nearly 90 organizations that provide specialized transportation for the elderly and disabled. In fiscal year 2017, the rural public transportation systems traveled nearly 3 million miles to transport passengers to medical appointments, employment, shopping, etc. This program consists of both state and federal funds.

 

Commissions

 

NDOT is also required by statute to provide assistance to two quasi-independent boards; the State Highway Commission and the State Aeronautics Commission. Commissioners for both boards are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Legislature. These Commissioners act as liaisons between the public and NDOT and also provide directional advice for NDOT.