(North Platte, Nebraska, February 16, 2021) The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) officials announced 49 new designations to the America’s Byways® collection including Nebraska’s 450-mile long border- to-border Lincoln Highway Scenic and Historic Byway.
On September 22, 2019 President Trump signed H.R. 831, Reviving America’s Scenic Byways Act of 2019. The act directed the Secretary of Transportation to request nominations for and make determinations regarding roads to be designated under the National Scenic Byway Program. Only roadways already designated as state byways with Corridor Management Plans (CMPs) were eligible to apply. In February 2020, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) officially opened the nomination process for the first new round of National Scenic Byway nominations in twelve years.
When the first stay-at-home orders of the pandemic had businesses and government agencies closed or working from home across Nebraska, the Board of Directors of the Nebraska Lincoln Highway Scenic and Historic Byway were hard at work from their dining room tables. Deb Loseke of the Columbus Chamber of Commerce, Sarah Focke of the Kearney Visitors Bureau and Muriel Clark of the North Platte Visitors Bureau put in long hours expanding the existing Corridor Management Plan and preparing the National Designation application. When the nomination process was opened in February, the Byway had just months to complete tasks that generally take years.
The Nebraska Lincoln Highway’s efforts were aided by Wanda Maloney, a byway consultant from Corridor Solutions and Bev Kellison of the Nebraska Department of Transportation. The Board spent many hours virtually traveling the Byway on Google Maps, poring over historic documents, reviewing History Nebraska’s historical markers along the Byway, consulting with local road departments and tourism officials. The result was a nearly 200-page Corridor Management Plan and a successful National Designation application.
The Nebraska Lincoln Highway Scenic and Historic Byway first began as the Platte River Trails Scenic Byway designated by the then Nebraska Department of Roads in 1999, encompassing Highway 30 in only the counties of Dawson and Lincoln in central Nebraska. In 2004, the Nebraska Department of Roads approved an extension of the Platte River Trails Scenic Byway to create the Nebraska Lincoln Highway Scenic and Historic Byway that encompassed all of Highway 30 in Nebraska border to border.
Over the intervening years, the Byway benefited from the leadership of many individuals including Ramona Joyce of Sidney, Anne Anderson of Gothenburg, Trisha Beem from Grand Island, and Twyla Witt the Byway coordinator from the Nebraska Tourism Commission. Many others contributed to the success of the Byway and the National Designation application including past and current board members and Lincoln Highway Association members.
The Lincoln Highway was America’s first transcontinental highway and followed closely the historic transportation route of the “Great Platte River Road” that began with the early Native Americans, fur trappers and traders, westward migration routes, Pony Express and the Union Pacific Railroad. Driving across this roadway today is a reminder of what the road was like during the era of transportation development in America.
The Iowa Lincoln Highway Heritage Byway also received National Designation today. The Lincoln Highway across Nebraska and Iowa join Illinois as National Scenic Byways. Today’s Lincoln Highway travelers can traverse more than 1,000 miles along the route of the original transcontinental highway on a National Scenic Byway.
As the world emerges from the pandemic, surveys of Americans indicate they are looking forward to travel, and road trips rank high among the adventures they are most anticipating. The National Byway status will enhance the Lincoln Highway’s appeal among these potential visitors as they return to traveling. All newly designated byways will be featured in a commemorative 2021 National Scenic Byways Program Designations Booklet and will also be added to the America’s Byways website.
The Byway links and interprets important historical resources throughout the route of the historic Lincoln Highway in Nebraska, demonstrating the pattern of travel and settlement along the route from the pre-historic era of the “Great Platte River Road” to the modern highway era. Travelers will quickly gain an appreciation for the importance of the Highway in terms of fulfilling America’s Manifest Destiny and the development of the modern transportation infrastructure we enjoy today. The Byway organization will take the lead in creating enhanced signage, spurring historical preservation and economic development and encouraging Lincoln Highway pride in communities.
“Through their many unique qualities, each of these new additions to the National Scenic Byways program helps America’s roads tell our national story,” said FHWA Executive Director Tom Everett.
“These special routes offer travelers exciting new opportunities to explore the nation, from coast to coast or close to home.”
