City to make North 27th street safer using signals that adjust to traffic flow

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) - If you drive in Lincoln, you’ve likely spent some time stuck in congested traffic on North 27th Street. The city’s traffic engineering team says this isn’t just frustrating, it’s dangerous.

It’s why they’re working to make North 27th safer, using federal dollars.

Dan Carpenter, traffic engineer for Lincoln Transportation and Utilities told 10/11 NOW starting in April 2022, they’re installing adaptive traffic signals on North 27th from O Street to I-80. This means the timing of the lights would change based on traffic flow.

“Take 27th and Cornhusker Highway for example, if there’s a heavy flow of traffic turning, the goal would be to reduce the chances of them stopping at the next signal,” Carpenter said.

Reducing stops reduces the risk of rear-end crashes, he said.

The project will cost $1.9 million, but most of that will be paid for using the federal government’s Highway Safety Improvement Program.

Construction is slated to start this upcoming April and end before Husker Football season.

The same federal funding could also change the intersection of 84th and Cornhusker Highway.

LTU data shows there have been more than 50 westbound crashes at that intersection in the last three years.

“Because of the high speeds of Cornhusker Highway, a lot of those are injury crashes, so we’re going to look for alternatives to improve that intersection,” Carpenter said.

Potential changes could be turning it into a round-a-bout, but Carpenter said the project is in the very early stages and the process to secure federal funding requires a lot of analysis. He said they have to look at how construction could impact the environment and nearby railroad track. It’s not likely a decision will be made on what to do there for a few years. The earliest possible date for construction at 84th and Cornhusker would be 2024.

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