OMAHA — With utilities set to begin streetcar-related construction work along Omaha’s Harney Street, the so-called Market-to-Midtown Bikeway will shut down Sept. 3.

Envisioned for later is a new and permanent two-way bikeway on the opposite side of the street from the streetcar tracks — helping to create  the metro area’s first multimodal transit corridor for a protected bikeway as well as for the streetcar, buses, cars and pedestrians.

The different modes of transportation is what will stand out, said Scott Dobbe, a Metro Smart Cities board member who also is executive director of Omaha by Design. He said cities that can boast a high quality of living typically feature multimodal streets.

“It will showcase that we’re a city moving forward,” said Dobbe.

Planning is underway on a permanent bikeway and comments can be submitted online.  A public meeting also is to be announced next year to gain feedback.

The new and permanent bikeway is to be funded through public and philanthropic dollars.

Omaha’s 2025-30 capital improvement plan includes $7.6 million for the bikeway project, with an estimated completion date in 2028.

As originally launched, the Market-to-Midtown Bikeway was intended as an 18-month pilot project with Metro Smart Cities to identify and develop plans for future protected bikeways. The agreement with the City of Omaha required Metro Smart Cities to provide snow removal and street sweeping and to operate a hotline for input.

The bikeway stayed open after the pilot’s official end in 2022 when a donor offered to pay for operations and maintenance.

Closure after Labor Day is now necessary to avoid possible injury to cyclists and pedestrians as construction launches on the streetcar project set to run between downtown and midtown, Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert said in a news release.

The streetcar is expected to be up and running in 2027. The total anticipated and updated cost in the streetcar corridor is $459 million.

Stothert and Dobbe said the pilot bikeway has produced data helpful in designing and building the permanent bikeway, which will use parts of both Farnam and Harney Streets. The two-way bikeway is to be built on the south side of Farnam from Turner Boulevard to 17th Street, cross 17th Street on the west side of the street, then continue east to 10th Street on the north side of Harney.

Dobbe said supporters look forward to the return of the bikeway in an enhanced configuration.

“The new, permanent bikeway will set the standard for safety, accessibility and design of multi-modal infrastructure in the region,” he said.

Stothert said that, similar to construction of The Riverfront, which required closing downtown parks for several years, the creation of the city’s first multi-modal corridor will take time. Construction is to be done in phases, in coordination with the streetcar construction.

Plans include infrastructure and aesthetic improvements such as medians, buffers, landscaping, wayfinding and public art.

Removal of the existing bikeway, to be paid for by Metro Smart Cities, is to take about one week.

The city, in a news release, said lane closures along Harney will continue for utility work, similar to construction underway on Farnam Street. The first phase of work is to be relocation of underground telecommunications fiber lines, followed by upgrading of utilities under the bikeway.

This story was published by Nebraska Examiner, an editorially independent newsroom providing a hard-hitting, daily flow of news. Read the original article: https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/omahas-market-to-midtown-bikeway-to-...