Lincoln – Traffic on Nebraska highways is approaching normal levels after falling sharply this spring when restrictions related to the coronavirus were first imposed.

The Nebraska Transportation Department said last week that traffic statewide was near the average level from 2016 to 2018 for the first time since early March although some areas remain slower.

On the interstate system of highways around Omaha and between Omaha and Lincoln, traffic was down 9%. At the height of the coronavirus restrictions in early April, traffic was down 44% in that area.

In Omaha, traffic on streets and highways was 6% below average. Traffic in Lincoln was down 4%.

Highways in some parts of the state were busier than average. Interstate 80 traffic west of Lincoln was up 8% and rural highway traffic in the state was up 5%.

Nebraska continues to see new virus cases reported daily.

The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in Nebraska decreased from 281 new cases per day as of July 29 to about 265 new cases per day as of Aug. 12. However, the seven-day daily average of COVID-19 deaths over the past two weeks has increased, to 2.71 deaths per day as of Aug. 12, from 1.57 deaths per day as of July 29.

In Douglas County, there were 1,694 positive tests in the past two weeks. In Sarpy County, there were 476 positive tests, and Lancaster County had 419 cases.