Dawes County commissioners back resolutions supporting Heartland Expressway and future I-27 designation

Deb Cottier, chair of the Heartland Expressway Association and a representative of the Northwest Nebraska Development Corporation, asked the Dawes County Board of Commissioners on Aug. 26 to adopt local resolutions in support of a regional effort to pursue federal funding and designation for a proposed interstate route.

The board adopted three resolutions related to the effort. Resolution No. 2025-20, dedicating formula funding toward future interstate highways, passed 2–1 with Commissioners Walter Juhlin and Jake Stewart voting aye and Chairman Vic Rivera voting nay. Resolution No. 2025-21, naming the corridor as future interstate development, passed 2–1 on the same split. Resolution No. 2025-22, supporting a feasibility study on the route’s economic impact, passed unanimously.

Cottier told the board the route would require some right-of-way acquisition but said it "will serve the traveling public," framing the local resolutions as part of a grassroots push to persuade federal decision-makers in Washington, D.C.

Commissioners addressed local concerns about property and tax revenue. Rivera asked how private and public lands might be affected by potential loss of tax revenue if right-of-way is acquired; Cottier and the supporters said negotiations and compensation would be part of downstream planning but did not provide specific estimates at the meeting.

The resolutions place Dawes County among several local governments signaling support for further study and federal funding requests. The board provided no timetable in the minutes for follow-up actions beyond adoption of the resolutions.

The board’s resolutions are recorded in the meeting minutes and available for public inspection at the county clerk’s office.