History

 

In 1988, the Nebraska Legislature prioritized the Nebraska Expressway System, entailing of 600 miles of expressway. Approximately 70% (over 400 miles) of the Expressway System has been completed, with major advancement occurring in 2011 with the passage of the Build Nebraska Act and again in 2016 with the passage of the Transportation Innovation Act. The designated expressway system included 16 corridors based on:

 

 

Socioeconomic Data

Connecting Urban Centers to the Interstate

Serve Commercial Traffic

Continuity between Expressway Segments

 

 

 

Funding

 

Build Nebraska Act (BNA)

  • Nebraska's 2011 Legislature passed into law the Build Nebraska Act (BNA). This 20-year funding mechanism reassigned 1/4 of 1% of the existing general state sales tax receipts to state and local highways, roads, and streets.

 

  • 85% goes to the Nebraska DOT for expansion and reconstruction of the Expressway System and federally designated high-priority corridors, construction of new highways and other high priority projects for the state's highway system.

 

  • These funds first became available in the fall of 2013 and are estimated to generate $1.2 billion over the 20-year period. BNA also directs funding (15% of the total) to counties and municipalities for road and street purposes, distributed by formula.

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Transportation Innovation Act (TIA)

  • TIA was enacted in 2016 and allocated $450 million for targeted infrastructure investments.

 

  • TIA also created the Transportation Infrastructure Bank, which received a one-time transfer of $50 million from Nebraska's cash reserve fund in 2016 and continues to receive annual revenue from fuel taxes, around $30 million per year, of which some is allocated to accelerating capital improvement projects.

 

 

 

Additional Funding Sources

 

 

Federal

  • Competitive Grants

  • Formula funds

 

 

State

 

 

  • Motor fuel tax

  • Motor vehicle registration

  • Sales tax on motor vehicles, trailers, semi trailers

 

 

Local

 

 

  • 20% match for cities/towns with 15,000+