‘It’s bumper to bumper’: Lincoln drivers frustrated over 56th Street closure

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – Closures on 56th Street are adding to Lincoln drivers’ frustrations.

This week, the Lincoln Electric System is shutting down a different section of 56th Street every day.

The road was closed between A and South streets on Monday as LES crews were worked.

The rest of the week, some traffic will be reduced to one lane.

SEE ALSO: Lincoln Southwest parents, students face delays amid 14th Street construction

Elaine Muggy lives near the project site.

She said normally, this closure wouldn’t cause too much commotion, but since there’s construction on 84th Street, a lot of drivers are coming down to 56th instead.

“It’s bumper to bumper for almost two, three hours after 5 o’clock,” she said. “We just kind of have to deal with it until they get it done.”

Muggy said with all of these projects, traffic is a nightmare.

“There’s trucks all over the place up and down 56th Street,” she said. “And the only way they’re going to do it is to almost, like, shut the town down.”

SEE ALSO: ‘It’s going to be terrible’: Seward students will face detours heading back to school

Tim Rajewski, the project manager for LES, said this is phase one of a bigger plan.

“The construction for this project began a little over a year ago, and it’s been in process since that point in time,” he said. “There’s still the transmission phase, which will follow after this. And all of that is to conclude before the city begins paving a portion of 56th Street next spring.”

Crews have already buried the overhead power lines underground.

Now, the electricians are taking out unneeded poles and utility lines.

The goal is to make the area look nicer and make power more reliable.

SEE ALSO: Yearlong road improvement project in Lincoln now complete

Muggy said these things are important to the neighborhood — it’s just not great timing.

But she wants to remind people not to take out their frustrations in their driving.

“Just take it easy and drive slow because it’s going to take a while to get home,” Muggy said. “We just have to deal with it. Be patient and deal with it.”

SEE ALSO: NDOT’s 2025 road construction plan includes $51 million Lincoln West Beltway