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Grand Island council hears wide-ranging one-and-six-year street improvement plan; Broadwell crossing, South Locust trail, drainage projects discussed
Summary
Public works staff presented the city’s one- and six-year street improvement plan at the July 22 meeting, outlining major capital projects, timelines, and funding steps including a $34 million Broadwell grade-separation study, South Locust improvements and multiple drainage and intersection projects tied to recent flood response.
The Grand Island City Council held a public hearing on the city’s one- and six-year street improvement plan on July 22, 2025. Keith Kurtz, the city’s public works director, presented the plan and answered detailed questions about project timelines, costs and coordination with state and private partners.
Kurtz described a portfolio of projects the department is advancing. He said the Broadwell grade-separation corridor effort is a large, multi-year project that currently carries an estimated total project cost of about $34 million with a projected city share around $6 million. On a separate but related item, Burlington Northern proposed a planning study of 17 rail crossings within the metropolitan planning organization area; that study is a $750,000 effort for which Kurtz said federal FRA funding could cover 80 percent, with the city and Burlington Northern each contributing 10 percent.
Kurtz also reviewed the South Locust Street improvements and related right-of-way acquisitions; the council later approved a set of necessary easements and acquisitions for the South Locust project. He briefed the council on Stally Park Road coordination with the state fair and said design work is advancing with an aim to bid in the fall and start construction after next year’s fair season.
On drainage and stormwater, Kurtz said a wetland-bank permitting process delayed a planned project and that the city wants to establish a wetland bank it can use or sell to offset federal wetland impacts. He outlined Third Street drainage improvements the city hopes to bid this fall and described culvert-replacement needs in outfall ditches, noting some large corrugated pipes are rusting and the city is proposing a multi-year program to address them.
Council discussion ranged broadly. Several council members asked how the planned changes to medians and intersections on Deers and State streets would affect access to businesses. Kurtz and other staff described a design approach that reduces signalized left-turn conflicts by changing intersection operations and adding turn lanes; Kurtz said the design aims to keep traffic moving and to reduce stacking that currently blocks turn bays. He compared the concept to modern roundabout-style flows and said the state is implementing similar safety-focused reconfigurations at busy intersections.
Council members asked whether the city is conducting a formal after-action on recent storm flooding. Laura McAloon, city administrator, and Kurtz said department heads and regional partners have been sharing damage and flood-assessment information with state and federal agencies; John (last name not provided in the transcript) is compiling a damage assessment to support potential Small Business Administration assistance and other relief programs.
Why it matters: The one- and six-year plan sets the city’s near-term capital work on streets, bridges, drainage and pedestrian access. Several projects tie to state funding opportunities or federal grant programs, and many include multi-agency coordination and future bond or financing steps.
What’s next: Staff will continue final design and right-of-way negotiations; council later approved the one- and six-year plan (see “Votes at a glance” for the formal motion and vote).
