Despite years of media coverage, hundreds of public meetings, bus and bike tours, and a Web site highlighting construction, some people still haven't got a clue about what is happening on the east edge of Lincol
ALGIS J. LAUKAITIS / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Saturday, August 9, 2008 7:00 pm
Drivers already travel its roads, past Memorial Stadium and State Fair Park, and north to 14th and Cornhusker Highway.
Bicyclists pedal along its trails to and from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln City Campus.
Vandals spray graffiti on the wall-like pillars of some of its road and pedestrian bridges.
The $241.6 million Antelope Valley Project, now in its fifth year of construction, is being used in good and not-so-good ways.
It’s possible the vandals don’t know what they are defacing. Their target may look like a maze of new roads, bridges and concrete- and grass-lined channels and nothing more.
That’s not a big surprise.
Despite years of media coverage, hundreds of public meetings, bus and bike tours, and a Web site highlighting construction, some people still haven’t got a clue about what is happening on the east edge of Lincoln’s downtown.
“It does somewhat amaze me, but it also makes me happy because what that means is that things have gone quite smoothly for a project of this magnitude,” said Wayne Teten, who will retire Oct. 10 as the city’s Antelope Valley project manager.
Antelope Valley is the biggest public works project in Lincoln’s history.
Its basic goals are to expand the flood plain of the creek that bears its name so it can handle a 100-year flood, improve traffic flow from downtown to 27th and Cornhusker and near UNL City Campus, and revitalize several inner-city neighborhoods with new housing and businesses and community improvements such as the proposed $7 million Union Plaza Park.
People who live or drive through the area are more aware of what’s going on than those who have no reason to visit that part of the city, said Glenn Johnson, general manager of the Lower Platte South Natural Resources District and a member of the Joint Antelope Valley Authority, the group overseeing the project. The city and the university are the other two JAVA partners.
Teten and Johnson said Antelope Valley, whose construction began near the State Fair Park, will become more visible this fall as it begins to move closer to the core of downtown.
Seven components of the project — the most ever undertaken in one year — are in various stages of construction and some, like the O Street bridge and a new roadway segment from Y to Vine streets, will be open by the end of August.
“It (Antelope Valley) will become real visible then, whether you’re driving down O Street or coming up Capitol Parkway,” Johnson said.
By the end of the year a new channel will be carved south of Trago Park and under the P Street and Q Street bridges. Those spans now sit on ground. Eventually, the channel work will extend south to just past J Street, where a new bridge is under construction.
So far, $150 million has been spent on the project, Teten said. Construction is about 60 percent complete. Most of the project — except for a bridge replacement near 38th and South — should be finished in 2011.
“Considering the weather we’ve had it’s amazing that they’ve made this kind of progress,” Teten said.
Walking the recreational trail along Antelope Creek is one of the best ways to see where the money was spent — and what’s been done so far.
It’s also a good way to talk to people using the project or whose lives have been changed since construction began in 2003.
Massive retaining walls — decorated with oak and maple leaves, nautilus shells, and aggregate to resemble an ancient seabed — are the most visible feature of the project. There’s a wide, weedy channel, too, and rust-colored pedestrian and railroad bridges.
“If you look at the Antelope Valley Project and the State Fair moving, it looks like the University of Nebraska is doing a land grab and getting a highway system to meet their needs,” said Larry Nelson of 1427 Dakota St.
Nelson recently stopped by the relocated home of Mike Morosin, a citizen activist and longtime opponent of the Antelope Valley Project.
At considerable cost, the city moved Morosin out of the Malone Neighborhood to 1500 N. 15th St. and rented storage units for many of his possessions. His stuff now covers most of his yard and an adjacent lot that backs up to the Antelope Valley Parkway.
Morosin’s red house, with its candy-striped awnings, is almost right across the street from “The Triplets,” three historic homes preserved and moved by the city at a cost of $630,000.
Nelson’s main concern is how the city is going to maintain such a big public works project for years to come when it has a problem keeping the grass mowed in its parks and is cutting hours at city swimming pools now.
“John Q. Public is on a fixed income year after year and we have to pick up the cost,” he added.
Teten said the city is also concerned about the project’s future maintenance costs, like taking care of the medians, mowing grass and removing graffiti. No figure was available, but he said some of the money will come from endowments and private donations.
Despite such concerns, Nelson believes the project is “looking really good” and is going to be a beautiful addition to the city.
Hayden Perez, an assistant coach of UNL’s women’s tennis team, has been riding his bicycle on the Antelope Valley trail system for the past year. He finds it’s a great way to get from the Devaney Sports Center to the UNL City Campus and helps him save on gas.
Asked what he thinks the impact of Antelope Valley will be on Lincoln, he replied: “I think it’s yet to be seen. Only time will tell if it’s worth it.”
Perez likes the new railroad bridge. It has eliminated traffic delays of up to 20 minutes, he said. He is also looking forward to the completion of the east leg of the Big T intersection, which will take vehicles from downtown to just south of 27th Street and Cornhusker Highway.
Unlike Nelson, Perez doesn’t believe the Antelope Valley is part of a university land grab. The project is necessary, he said, and will make a big difference traffic-wise on football Saturdays.
An estimated 40,000 vehicles daily will use the new Antelope Valley Roadway, Teten said.
Forty-four homes and 19 businesses were purchased to make way for the Antelope Valley Project, Teten said, and five businesses remain to be bought.
When the project is completed, Teten said, 800 homes and 200 businesses will no longer be in the flood-threatened area.
Gary Blattert, president and one of the owners of Carter Lumber Co., 1900 R St., believes the project is being built to benefit the university, so it can have more land to build research centers. He also believes it will give the university a more direct traffic route from Interstate 80 to Memorial Stadium.
“They should have given the people of Lincoln the right to vote for it,” Blattert said. “A lot of folks don’t even know what’s going on.”
Carter Lumber will soon move its store and warehouse to 1235 W. O St. It plans to use a building now leased to an auto dealer and build three new buildings. One is already completed. The owners have until February to relocate.
“It was a waste of money. I don’t see how it’s bettering anything,” said Derek Blaser, also a co-owner of the lumber company. “I don’t see where they’re going to accomplish a lot in what they are doing and the amount of people they put out and businesses interrupted.”
Blaser said the lumber company has a 65-year history of serving customers near downtown. He said moving farther west will affect their business because they will lose their central location.
Blattert said the city gave the owners $1 million to move but it will cost them $1 million more “to do what we have to do.” He said the drop in new home construction and a tough economy doesn’t help business.
Craig Gerdts, manager of Mum’s Liquor at 2202 O St., has had a cat bird’s seat for the Antelope Valley Project.
He’s watched construction of the Q and P streets bridges and now the O Street bridge, which when finished, will be near his doorstep.
He said construction has hurt business and he looks forward to it being done.
“I think the project will be very nice when it’s done,” Gerdts said.
Reach Algis J. Laukaitis at (402) 473-7243 or alaukaitis@journalstar.com.