Senate committee hears push for $15 million to restart East Beltway work in Lincoln

Senator Beau Ballard, the bill's introducer, told the Transportation and Telecommunications Committee that LB619 would appropriate $15,000,000 to help cities of the primary class and their counties carry out work that connects state and national highways as part of the planned East Beltway around Lincoln.

The appropriation would pay for preparatory planning and infrastructure work that supporters said is required to pursue federal grants and complete environmental and design updates. "The East Beltway is a crucial investment in the future of Lincoln's transportation and the broader economic growth of Southeast Nebraska and Nebraska as a whole," Ballard said.

The bill drew unified support from local engineers, planning staff and business groups who described decades of prior planning and corridor…