OMAHA, NE — The Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT) announces that Hawkins Construction of Omaha has been awarded the contract to begin immediate work on the Highway 281 Bridge over the Niobrara River south of Spencer, Nebraska. Recent flooding caused significant damage and washed out a segment of the highway just south of the bridge.

The department has authorized the contractor to begin immediate work to install a single lane ‘shoofly’ with a traffic signal to allow traffic to move through the construction zone temporarily while the bridge is being constructed. The department anticipates the temporary roadway to be in service by August 1, 2019.

The $25,470,887 contract covers the single lane temporary roadway and bridge as well as a permanent 1,050-foot bridge over the Niobrara River Channel. Hawkins Construction has already begun work at the site. The department estimates the permanent bridge to be open by November of 2020 with project completion anticipated to be spring of 2021.

“The Highway 281 project is one of the department’s most complex reconstruction efforts,” said NDOT Director Kyle Schneweis. “We’ve followed a very aggressive schedule through design and procurement in order to expedite construction, and now we are … turning dirt less than a week after award of the contract. The Nebraska contracting and engineering industries have been great partners as we look to rebuild our transportation system following the 2019 flooding.”