Scottsbluff council endorses Heartland Expressway corridor resolutions, supporting future interstate designation and a multi-state feasibility study

Scottsbluff’s City Council unanimously approved three resolutions Monday supporting steps to advance the Heartland Expressway and other high-priority north–south corridors toward future interstate designation and funding.

Deb Cottier, chair of the Heartland Expressway Association and director of the Chadron economic development office, told the council the resolutions ask Congress to include dedicated formula funding for interstate development in the Surface Transportation Reauthorization Bill, to designate the full route as a "future interstate," and to authorize a multistate feasibility study of the entire corridor. "First of all, we want to encourage Congress to put in what they call the Surface Transportation Reauthorization Bill, dedicated formula funding for interstate development," Cottier said.

Cottier described the Heartland Expressway as a multi-decade, multistate effort to improve north–south freight and safety connections through Nebraska’s Panhandle and beyond. She said designating the corridor as a future interstate is a planning and recognition tool that does not compel state departments of transportation to build it but would help secure federal and multistate support for planning and funding.

Council members asked technical questions about project timing and likely state roles. Cottier said parts of the corridor already meet four-lane standards in some states, that Nebraska has ongoing projects on the network and that a coordinated multistate feasibility study would give DOTs and Congress better evidence for federal funding.

Council votes took place on three separate resolutions. On a motion by Councilmember Stricker and a second by Councilmember Phillips the council approved a resolution supporting a future interstate highway formula program. On a separate motion the council approved a resolution supporting a multistate feasibility study for the Heartland Expressway, the Theodore Roosevelt Expressway and portions of the Ports-to-Plains corridor. The council also approved a resolution supporting future interstate designation, numbering future interstate segments and related corridor planning. Council roll calls recorded unanimous support from members present.

The resolutions are nonbinding statements of local support intended to bolster a regional advocacy effort; Cottier said the association will use local endorsements to show congressional delegations that communities along the route back the proposal. The council did not commit city funds; the actions were endorsements and letters of support.