Interstate 80 between the 56th St. and the Waverly interchange could go from a four-lane highway to a six-lane highway if Gov. Dave Heineman has his way.

"We tried to identify the areas that would have the greatest impact and that are important to the state," the governor said.

It is among five projects in the state the Dept. of Roads will apply for under the grant.

"We are hopeful that with the support of our federal delegation, these projects will be selected for funding," said Heineman.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act only designates $1.5 billion nationwide, which makes the selection process highly competitive.

"I've already sent a letter to the entire Congressional Delegation asking them to endorse it as one project," said Heineman. "I'm optimistic that we have as good a chance as anyone else, but i don't want to mislead anyone. This is very competitive and we've been told that not every state will be selected."

The state won't get the green light for these projects until early next year when ARRA chooses the $1.5 billion recipients.

"The biggest key is deliverability and can we have a complete package ready by that Sept., 30 2011 deadline," said Monty Fredrickson, the Acting Director for the Nebraska Dept. of Roads.

Heineman especially welcomes the money since learning that millions of dollars worth of Nebraska road projects meant to stimulate the economy won't start this year.

Heineman said that red tape at the federal level is partially to blame. Plus, he said, the state has not yet fulfilled requirements following an audit by federal regulators two years ago.

The audit said there needed to be more oversight of projects on city and county roads.

Heineman said the majority of roads projects in the state that will be paid for with $235 million in stimulus dollars will begin this year.

But, he says, many of the 80 local projects funded with $70 million of the $235 million won't start until 2010.

Heineman also announced that Nebraska Department of Roads will submit five projects for the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) discretionary grant.

"I'm optimistic that we have as good a chance as anyone else, but I don't want to mislead anyone," said Heneman. "This is very competitive and we've been told that not every state will be selected."

The grant is a competitive pool of funding included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

“Although this is a highly competitive grant, we are hopeful that with the support of our federal delegation these projects will be selected for funding,” Gov. Heineman said. “We hope to have these five projects funded as one package.”

The ARRA designated $1.5 billion nationwide which makes the selection process highly competitive.

Federal TIGER grant criteria stipulates that worthy projects must: show significant impact on a metropolitan area, a region or the nation; have an estimated cost of between $20 and $300 million; require no additional matching funds with priority given to projects requiring only a contribution of federal funds in order to complete the overall financing package; and have funds obligated by Sept. 30, 2011, and the project completed by Feb. 12, 2012.

Projects should also have national, regional or metropolitan significance; provide equitable geographic distribution; and represent an appropriate balance between urban and rural areas.

Nebraska’s potential projects for TIGER funding include:

* Expanding US-75 from a two-lane to a four-lane highway from Plattsmouth to Bellevue, including three interchanges in Cass and Sarpy Counties, and construction of four-lanes of US-34 to I-29 in Iowa. This includes the construction of a new bridge over the Missouri River, commonly referred to as the Bellevue Bridge. This is a combined project with Iowa;

* Resurfacing I-80 from Roscoe to Paxton in Keith County;

* Expanding I-80 from a four-lane to a six-lane interstate between the 56th Street interchange and the Waverly interchange in Lancaster County;

* Expanding N-133, commonly called Blair High Road, from a two-lane to a four-lane highway, from the junction with N-36 north towards Blair for 5 miles in Douglas and Washington Counties;

* Expanding N-370 from a two-lane to a four-lane highway between Gretna and I-80 in Sarpy County.

Applications for the TIGER discretionary grant must be submitted by Sept. 15. The U.S. Department of Transportation expects to announce selected projects no later than Feb. 17, 2010.