Northeast Neb. highway could open by year's end - KTIV News 4 Sioux City IA: News, Weather and Sports

A new highway that allows industry truck traffic to bypass driving inside the city of Norfolk, Nebraska could be done by then end of this year. 

The Northeast Industrial Highway was a topic of conversation at meetings of city and county officials this week.  The Northeast Industrial Highway aims to reduce the amount of industrial truck traffic going through the city of Norfolk and help drivers reach their destinations without city travel. 

The roadway connects Highway 35, near Woodland Park east of Norfolk, with Highway 81 north of Norfolk and takes trucks directly to Nucor Steel, Norfolk Iron, and Metal and the Louis Dreyfus Ethanol Plant.  The first phase of the highway was completed last summer. 

This week, the Madison County Commissioners opened bids for the next phase, which will get started next month.  The contract will be officially awarded to a Plainview construction company in a couple weeks. 

The bidding for the third and final phase will take place in April with hopes of having the construction complete by the end of 2013.  The Norfolk Planning Commission approved the projects this week as one of the City's one-year street improvement goals. 

The highway is a joint project between the city of Norfolk, Madison  County, Stanton County and the Railroad Transportation Safety District.  Total cost for the entire project is around $11 million.