City of Beatrice Awarded $10.6 Million Grant for Lincoln Street Improvements

The City of Beatrice has been awarded a $10.6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) through its Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) 2026 Implementation Grant program. The funding will support major safety and traffic flow improvements along Lincoln Street from 5th Street to 25th Street.

The grant award is the result of several years of planning, roadway analysis, and community input to identify Beatrice's most important transportation needs. By completing studies and developing a comprehensive safety plan, the City has positioned itself to pursue funding for projects that improve safety for motorists, pedestrians, and the entire community.

The City has developed studies and roadway analysis to identify opportunities to improve safety and traffic flow along Lincoln Street and throughout the community. The Lincoln Street Corridor Study, completed in 2022, provided an initial, data-driven assessment of the corridor and helped identify potential improvements. That work informed the City's SS4A Safety Action Plan, completed in 2025, which established a broader strategy for addressing roadway safety throughout Beatrice.

The Safety Action Plan combines traffic data, roadway analysis, and community input to identify priority projects and recommend targeted improvements. Completing these studies and developing a comprehensive plan helped establish the need for the Lincoln Street project and strengthened the City's efforts to secure federal funding.

The SS4A Safety Action Plan identified three top priorities for roadway safety improvements:

• Priority 1: 6th Street/US 77, Mulberry Avenue to Dorsey Street. Improvements are currently being coordinated with the Nebraska Department of Transportation's resurfacing project.
• Priority 2: Court Street/US 136, 1st Street to 10th Street. Improvements are being pursued through the City's CAST Initiative and federal RAISE grant efforts.
• Priority 3: Lincoln Street, 6th Street/US 77 to 25th Street. Improvements now supported by the newly awarded $10.6 million SS4A grant.

Together, these efforts demonstrate the City's coordinated approach to improving transportation safety, enhancing traffic movement, and pursuing outside funding to help make needed improvements possible.

Lincoln Street is an important transportation corridor, carrying an average of nearly 5,000 vehicles per day. It connects families with children to the Beatrice Elementary School, provides access to the Gage County Sheriff's Office and Jail, and serves commuters traveling to the Beatrice State Developmental Center. It also functions as a critical emergency response route for police, fire, and emergency medical services.

Planned improvements include:

• A new two-lane concrete street design to improve the roadway and support safer, more efficient travel.
• A new roundabout at 19th and Lincoln streets to improve traffic flow and intersection safety.
• Traffic signal improvements and intersection realignment to enhance safety and traffic movement.
• Sidewalks set farther back from the street to create greater separation between pedestrians and motor vehicles.
• Shorter pedestrian crossing distances at intersections where on-street parking is allowed, helping calm traffic and improve pedestrian safety.

These improvements are intended to make Lincoln Street safer and more functional for everyone who uses it, including drivers, pedestrians, school families, and emergency responders.

The $10.6 million federal grant will cover 80% of eligible project costs, with the City of Beatrice supporting the remaining 20% non-federal cost-share requirement.

Construction is anticipated to begin in late 2028 or early 2029. Additional project details and information about construction timelines will be shared as they become available.

The City of Beatrice thanks the community partners who provided letters of support for the grant application, as well as U.S. Senators Deb Fischer and Pete Ricketts, and Representative Adrian Smith for their support.

This award represents a significant step toward improving one of Beatrice's highest-priority roadway corridors and demonstrates the value of long-term planning in securing resources to address the community's transportation needs.