If you love the Friday fish fry at South Omaha’s Holy Ghost Church during Lent, you might consider a detour.
Omaha’s Public Works Department has closed down Q Street between 46th and 48th Streets just east of the church, and along the north side of St. Mary Magdalene Cemetery.
It marks the beginning of a road construction project that will transform the look of a short section of Q Street, and 48th Street from Q to Harrison Street.
During this first phase, Q Street will be widened to three lanes, adding a center turn lane as well as new curbs, gutters, storm sewer and sidewalk. The work is expected to wrap up in early June, according to the Public Works website. The following two phases will extend construction further east: first to 45th Street, and then to 44th Street.
Later this year, construction will start on a new roundabout at 48th and Q, including the widening of both streets leading into the intersection.
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In 2025, work will move to 48th Street south as far as the BNSF Railway line. The road will be rebuilt into a hybrid 2-lane and 3-lane urban section, including sidewalks, gutters, curbs and retaining walls. A roundabout will be added at U Street.
The last phase, scheduled for 2026, will extend the road reconstruction to Harrison Street.
Roundabouts are definitely becoming a thing along this part of Q Street. The city already has constructed an oddly configured double roundabout at 42nd and Q Streets, with one on each side of the BNSF tracks.
Janice Fulmer, who lives near Spring Lake Elementary School, is not a fan of those. She said it’s tough for drivers who want to travel straight through on Q because they have to change lanes quickly and watch the signs — at the expense of watching the road.
“The roundabouts made the intersection worse, not better,” Fulmer said in an email. “If there is heavy traffic you might as well plan to end up going either north or south on 42nd Street. I avoid this intersection, as do many of my friends.”
The planned roundabouts on 48th Street are in conventional intersections and shouldn’t cause that kind of confusion.
Still thinking of heading to the Holy Ghost fish fry? If you’re coming from the east, here’s a cheat: from L Street, take 49th Street south, instead of 42nd Street.
For more on the 48th and Q Street project, visit KeepOmahaMoving.com/projects/48th-Street-Improvements.
What’s New
- Nebraska Highway 50/Millard Avenue from L Street to Nebraska Highway 370 will have varying lane restrictions while work crews carry out sealing, milling and resurfacing, bridge repairs, concrete replacement, guardrail construction and curb replacement through the summer of 2025. Some traffic restrictions will occur on cross streets.
South 140th Street will be restricted to one lane northbound at West Center Road for street panel replacement in the outside curb lane until Monday.
South 15th Street between Douglas and Farnam Streets will be closed Monday for concrete work.
Wenninghoff Road between Vernon Avenue and Sorensen Parkway will have varying lane restrictions for street repair until Wednesday.
Ed Creighton Avenue between Hanscom Boulevard and South 32nd Avenue will have lane restrictions westbound for utility work and road repair due to a water-main break until Wednesday.
The intersection of North 12th Street and Dodge Street will have varying lane restrictions for utility work until May 4.
The intersection of North 58th Street and Erskine Street will be closed for sewer repair until Monday.
The intersection of South 13th Street and Pine Street will have various lane restrictions for utility work until March 18.
- Valley View Drive between Madison Avenue and Mall Drive in Council Bluffs is closed Sunday because of a bridge demolition connected to the I-80 Madison Avenue interchange project.
- Perry Road at Birdsley Road in Council Bluffs is limited to a single lane with alternating two-way traffic until June 28.
Around Omaha
Northwest (north of West Dodge Road and west of I-680)
- The 192nd Street interchange on the West Dodge Expressway is being rebuilt as a "diverging diamond" interchange. Periodic lane closures, and some overnight ramp closures, can be expected through the end of 2024.
- State Street west of North 252nd Street near Valley will be closed for bridge construction until August.
- The outside lane is closed eastbound on West Maple Road between 177th and 180th Streets for roadwork related to the construction of a Costco warehouse store. No completion date is listed.
- State Street is closed from 168th Street to HWS Cleveland Boulevard for grading, paving and reconstruction of the 168th and State intersection until November 2024.
- North 108th Street between Burt Circle and Decatur Street will be closed with local access only for street widening until July 31.
- Fort Street between 183rd and 186th Streets is closed because of grading and paving of the three-lane roadway until spring.
- Miracle Hills Drive for approximately 300 feet to the east of Nicholas Street will be restricted to one lane in each direction for street repair in the eastbound lanes until Friday.
Northeast (north of Dodge Street and east of I-680)
- North 72nd Street between Bedford Avenue and Pratt Street will have various lane restrictions for utility work because of a water-main break until May 8.
- Westbound Dodge Street between North 38th and North 40th Avenues will be restricted for building construction in the outside curb lane until March 27.
- The Bristol Street bridge spanning the North Freeway between 27th and 28th Streets will be closed for bridge repairs until June 16.
- Willis Avenue between North 17th and North 18th Streets will be closed for construction related to Omaha's sanitary sewer separation project until April 11.
- North 16th Street will be closed at various points between Pinkney and Clark Streets for CSO sewer separation improvements through Aug. 31.
- North 16th Street between Corby and Locust Streets will be closed for utility improvements until April 16.
- Because of construction at the Kiewit corporate campus, North 15th Street between Mike Fahey and California Streets will be restricted southbound, and Mike Fahey between North 16th and North 15th Streets will have eastbound traffic shifted to the center lane until Friday.
- Florence Boulevard between Read Street and Sharon Drive will be restricted northbound because of a sewer separation project until Friday.
- Abbott Drive between Pratt Court and East Carter Boulevard will be restricted to one lane northbound for Eppley Airfield improvements in the outside curb lane until April 20.
Southwest (south of West Dodge Road and west of I-680/80)
- South 168th Street between Q Street and West Center Road will have lane restrictions for street widening until December 2024.
- Ehlers Street between South 167th Avenue and South 168th Street will be closed for street improvements until March 19.
- L Street between Englewood Avenue and South 149th Street will be closed to through traffic for sewer repairs until Monday.
Southeast (south of West Dodge Road and east of I-680/80)
- South 96th Street between Pacific Street and Poppleton Avenue will be closed to through traffic for sewer repair until Tuesday.
- West Center Road between South 90th Street and Paddock Road will have varying lane closures due to bridge painting until April 9.
- J Street between South 79th and South 84th Streets will be closed for utility work to repair a water-main break until Tuesday.
- Northbound traffic in the outside lane of South 72nd Street between Mercy Road and Cedar Street will be restricted for utility work until March 18.
- Q Street between South 61st and South 69th Streets will have various lane restrictions in front of 6402 Q St. for utility work until Friday.
- South 44th Street between Douglas and Farnam Streets is restricted to one lane in each direction due to construction on an adjacent property until Saturday.
- The eastbound curb lane on Douglas Street will be closed between 44th Street and Saddle Creek Road for construction until March 31.
- Varying lane restrictions are in place at the intersection of Saddle Creek Road and Leavenworth Street because of utility work, and intersection improvements are in place until Dec. 13.
- Harney Street between South 38th and South 37th Streets is restricted to one lane eastbound for building construction until March 27. South 37th Street between Farnam and Harney is closed as part of the same project.
- Farnam Street between South 37th and South 38th Streets will be restricted to one lane each direction for road construction until April 1.
- L Street between South 26th and South 24th Streets will be restricted to one lane eastbound for building construction in the outside curb lane until June 23.
- N Street between South 23rd and South 24th Streets will be closed to through traffic for utility work until March 26.
- Traffic in the east curb lane is restricted on South 24th Street between Landon Court and Howard Street due to building construction until March 21.
- Howard Street between South 22nd Street and South 21st Avenue will be restricted eastbound for utility work until March 18.
- The northbound lanes of South 18th Street between Farnam and Douglas Streets will be closed to through traffic for relocation of utilities due to the future Omaha streetcar line until March 25.
- Farnam Street between South 17th and South 18th Streets will be restricted to two lanes westbound for utility relocation related to construction of the new streetcar line until March 25.
- 14th Street is closed between Farnam and Douglas Streets, and curbside lanes are closed on Farnam, Douglas and 15th Street until early 2026 because of construction of the new Mutual of Omaha tower.
- Southbound traffic is restricted on South 12th Street between Harney and Howard Streets because of sewer repair until Monday.
Sarpy/Cass Counties
- 180th Street is closed for a half-mile south of Highway 370 near Vala's Pumpkin Patch for replacement of a culvert and reconstruction into a three-lane road until summer 2024.
- Platteview Road from Highway 31 to 210th Street is closed through March to allow for construction of a three-lane road. Pflug Road is suggested as an alternate route.
- Lane restrictions can be expected on U.S. 34/75 from Nebraska Highway 1 to Oak Hill Road in Plattsmouth through November 2024 to allow for road construction.
- The intersection of 204th Street and Capehart Road is closed as part of the Gretna Crossing Park construction project until late March.
Around Nebraska
- Head-to-head traffic is limited to 55 mph only on U.S. Highway 30 between North Ridge and North Luther Roads northwest of Fremont until fall 2024.
- Varying and intermittent lane closures can be expected on U.S. Highway 275 eastbound between B Road (5 miles east of West Point) and Pebble Street (1 mile west of Scribner), using flaggers because of road and bridge construction through summer 2024.
- Intermittent lane closures will occur on U.S. Highway 77 between Interstate 80 and Bluff Road in Lincoln because of road construction until April.
Council Bluffs/Iowa
- Occasional nighttime lane and ramp closures may occur on I-80 at the Madison Avenue interchange through June 2026 while the interchange is being rebuilt. Both shoulders on I-80 are closed until March 15.
- The Benton Street bridge over Indian Creek between Kanesville Road and East Broadway in Council Bluffs will be closed for rehabilitation and repair until July 31.
- South 25th Avenue at South 11th Street will be closed because of a sewer rehabilitation project until Friday.