: Demolish the North Freeway and Replace with an Urban Boulevard

ID

3

OrgName

PhysicalAddress

MailingAddress

Website

SocialMediaAccounts

Name

Garrett Hoie

Title

EmailAddress

ghoie07@gmail.com

Phone

+1 (402) 709-2121

Team

No

TeamExplanation

OrganizationalChart

OtherCompletedProjects

ProposalTitle

Demolish the North Freeway and Replace with an Urban Boulevard

TotalBudget

100000000.0

LB1024GrantFundingRequest

100000000.0

ProposalType

Capital project

BriefProposalSummary

The North Freeway cut through much of North Omaha in the late 20th century, against the wishes of the residents of the neighborhood, and led to the demolition of 2,000 buildings in the neighborhood, cutting it in 2. Originally intended to link up with I-680 past Florence, construction on it was stopped once it reached Florence, and now mainly exists as a little stub freeway with only 3 exits. Traffic data from the city of Omaha shows that is is underused as well. Furthermore, air quality data from your organization shows that air quality around the North Freeway is lower than elsewhere in the city, leading to higher risks of asthma and COPD. I believe that a modern boulevard with good transit could easily carry the traffic currently handled by the north freeway, while taking up less space, allowing more space for transit oriented affordable housing to spring up.

Timeline

Rochester, NY took approximately 3 years to complete a tear down and rebuild of .7 miles of an urban freeway.

PercentageCompletedByJuly2025

0.5

FundingGoals

Fundamental Change (i.e., a proposal that will continue to elevate North or South Omaha's presence and perception within the region, significantly improving the lives of area residents through physical development) Long-Lasting Economic Growth (i.e., a proposal that will foster gainful employment opportunities and financial investment in the area, leading to the creation of generational wealth and widespread economic vitality in North and South Omaha) Transformational (i.e., a proposal that will help energize, recharge, or spur significant and favorable advancements in North or South Omaha's function or appearance)

Community Needs

Multimodal Transportation (i.e., enable connectivity through driving, biking, taking transit, walking, and rolling) Other Infrastructure (i.e., develop or improve broadband, business districts, roadways, sewer, etc.) Quality of Life (i.e., create or enhance natural spaces, mixed uses, parks, safety, etc.) Sustainable Community (i.e., create or enhance housing, services, education, civic uses, recreation, etc.)

OtherExplanation

ProposalDescriptionAndNeedsAlignment

By focusing on new transit opportunities and distributing traffic more evenly through the neighborhood, air quality can improve leading to better health for residents. Furthermore, because a boulevard would take up less space than the North Freeway, freed up land can be used to develop affordable housing or park space for residents. And by restoring street connections with the grid, the neighborhood can be more walkable. It also could help revive the 24th/Lake Business District because there would be slower local traffic in the area rather than just funneling every car rapidly out of the neighborhood.

VisioningWorkshopFindingsAlignment

Urban freeways are bad for air quality and health. Furthermore, by restoring the street grid that the North Freeway cleaved in two, you can improve walkability and transit accessibility. Removing the North Freeway would be absolutely transformative for North Omaha.

PrioritiesAlignment

It would be a significant economic opportunity for North Omaha by making it a more walkable, more transit friendly neighborhood.

EconomicImpact

EconomicImpactPermanentJobsCreated

EconomicImpactTemporaryJobsCreated

EconomicImpactWageLevels

EconomicImpactAlignProposedJobs

CommunityBenefit

CommunityBenefitSustainability

BestPracticesInnovation

Freeway removal is something being looked at across the country right now, especially in the case of neighborhoods that were unfairly destroyed for freeways

OutcomeMeasurement

OutcomeMeasurementHow

OutcomeMeasurementCoinvestment

Partnerships

No

PartnershipsOrgs

PartnershipsMOU

Displacement

No

DisplacementExplanation

PhysicalLocation

QualifiedCensusTract

AdditionalLocationDocuments

PropertyZoning

Yes

ConnectedToUtilities

ConnectedToUtilitiesConnected

ConnectedToUtilitiesUpgradesNeeded

DesignEstimatingBidding

No

DesignEstimatingBiddingPackageDeveloped

No

DesignEstimatingBiddingCostsDetermined

Estimations based on similar proposals in other cities

GeneralContractor

No

GeneralContractorPublicCompetitiveBid

GeneralContractorPublicCompetitiveBidWhyNot

RequestRationale

GrantFundsUsage

ProposalFinancialSustainability

ProposalFinancialSustainabilityOperations

FundingSources

FundingSourcesPendingDecisions

FundingSourcesCannotContinue

Scalability

ScalabilityComponents

FinancialCommitment

$0, I'm just a private citizen on a mission

ARPAComplianceAcknowledgment

1.0

ARPAReportingMonitoringProcessAck

1.0

LB1024FundingSourcesAck

1.0

PublicInformation

1.0

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