NDOT studying Highway 2 near Palmyra after spike in crashes
PALMYRA, Neb. (KLKN) — The state is making some changes — at least temporarily — to a stretch of Highway 2 in Otoe County.
The Nebraska Department of Transportation said Thursday that it is lowering the speed limit to 55 mph “while the intersection is further evaluated.”
Douglas Fire & Rescue welcomed that change but said it wants more discussions about the road near Palmyra.
“The speed of Highway 2 is posted as 70; most generally, people are running between 70 and 75,” Fire Chief Joe Moller said.
The department said there’s been a significant rise in crashes and fatalities over the last four years.
It said that so far this year, the area between Highway 43 and County Road 10 accounts for 67% of the crashes it’s been called to.
That’s a massive spike from previous years, when it accounted for 27%.
“Main concerns are kind of a combination of the speed involved with the vehicle accidents and the lack of visibility due to the curve and the hills at the three intersections, primarily in Palmyra,” Moller said.
Two crashes in that area that made headlines across the state last month.
On Sept. 12, a school bus full of children was rammed off the road near Palmyra.
The Nebraska State Patrol says the bus was slowing down to pull into a driveway, when a pickup truck failed to brake and smashed into it from behind.
Then on Sept. 28, a Lincoln woman was killed in a two-vehicle crash in Palmyra.
Tania Greene, 62, died at the scene, while a 20-year-old Tecumseh man suffered injuries.
