In March 2025, the City of Seward said construction on the bridge over Plum Creek on East Hillcrest Drive and Bluff Road could begin as early as spring 2026 and be finished by fall 2026. Fall 2026 is here, and no crews are working on the bridge. It has been closed since July 2.
The road was always going to close for this project. The replacement plan never allowed traffic over the creek during construction. What changed is the order of events. The old bridge wore out before the new one could start, so the east edge of Seward got its detour early. The likely end date has moved from fall 2026 to sometime in 2027 or later.
What the 2025 plan promised, and what the 2026 plan says
The project carries the federal designation BRO-7080(56), "Seward East," control number 13524. It covers the bridge east of Karol Kay Boulevard plus 500 feet of roadway beyond each end. Compare the city's March 2025 project fact sheet with the draft FY2027 One and Six Year Road Plan and the gap is clear.
| March 2025 fact sheet | Draft FY2027 road plan, 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Estimated cost | About $3 million | $4,000,000 |
| Funding | Federal sources | 100% federal, BRO program |
| Construction timing | Spring 2026 to fall 2026 | Listed as 2026/2027 |
| Status note | Public comment through April 11, 2025 | Design complete, FEMA approval pending |
The 2025 design would remove the existing 101-foot, triple-span bridge. In its place would go a 120-foot, three-span continuous concrete slab bridge with a 34-foot clear roadway, 12-foot driving lanes and 4-foot shoulders. The work also included bank stabilization, new guardrail, resurfacing and a temporary crossing over the creek for construction equipment.
The holdup was at the federal level. In July, the Seward County Independent reported that the city was working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to restructure plans around the flood area near the bridge, where there are potential flood mitigation properties. Butcher told the paper that some of the bridge work had been delayed federally. He said that had the FEMA office not been affected by the recent federal government shutdown, the full replacement would have been underway before the Fourth of July. The road plan's "FEMA approval pending" note shows that step was still open when the plan was drafted. Meanwhile the estimate rose by roughly a million dollars.
The old bridge ran out of time first
The redesign took time, and the old bridge didn't have it. According to the Seward County Independent's July 15 report, an inspection on July 1 led the city to limit the bridge to one lane. City Engineer Mike Oneby said the stringers, the east-west support beams, were corroding and letting the deck sag. Mayor Josh Eickmeier closed the bridge indefinitely the next day. City Administrator Greg Butcher told the paper the closure came "out of an abundance of caution."
Seward's Fourth of July traffic was the first to take the detour. Oneby said the last traffic study counted an average of 500 daily trips across the bridge. All of those trips now go another way, and every one is longer than the drive straight over Plum Creek.
The same report said it was still unclear whether one lane might reopen before the replacement. If it did, the city would need signals or a traffic control system for two-way traffic. So the full closure is the baseline. A partial reopening would be a change the city would have to announce.
The detour the project was designed around
Because the replacement was never going to be built with traffic on it, the 2025 fact sheet already named a detour. The plan was to close a segment of East Hillcrest Drive and Bluff Road on either side of the bridge and send traffic around on:
- North Columbia Avenue
- U.S. Highway 34
- Road 252
That is the detour designed for the construction period. The signs posted now may differ, but the route shows the general loop drivers should plan on. The fact sheet also says access to properties next to the project would be kept open during construction, though it may be limited at times as the work is phased.
The early closure brings one practical consequence. Under the 2025 plan, the detour and the construction would have happened together over one season. Under the current schedule, drivers spend months on the detour while the old structure sits closed. Then they stay on it for the full construction period.
How long the detour is likely to last
The dates below come from different sources published at different times. Read in order, they show where the project stands.
- July 2, 2026. The bridge closes indefinitely.
- August 2026. The draft road plan had targeted an NDOT bid letting this month. In July, the city said it expected to let bids in early October instead.
- October 1, 2026. The Nebraska Department of Transportation's upcoming projects list, current as of August 3, put the Seward East bridge replacement on the October 1 letting. NDOT's 2026 letting schedule shows that date along with August 27 and October 29.
- As soon as December 2026. Oneby said in July that a contract could be awarded and work could begin by December, depending on weather.
- July 2027. Butcher said the bridge would likely still be closed next July.
- Up to 18 months of construction. That was Oneby's estimate in the same report.
The last item matters most for the calendar. The 2025 plan expected one construction season, spring to fall. The 2026 estimate allows up to 18 months. If work starts in December and uses all of that time, the build would run into mid-2028. The same July report also says the bridge is to be replaced in 2027. A realistic range runs from late 2027 to mid-2028, depending on when a contractor starts and how much of the 18 months the job takes. The October 1 letting date has passed. The posted result and the contract award will narrow that range.
East Hillcrest is getting more work than the bridge
The bridge is the most visible project on Seward's east side, but it isn't the only one. The road plan puts several jobs on the same corridor over the next two construction seasons.
Electrical work comes first. On September 1, the Seward City Council approved a construction contract with Watts Electric Co., the low bidder, for the East Hillcrest Drive Underground Circuit Relocation Project, according to council proceedings published by the Seward County Independent. The September 1 council agenda lists the recommended contract at $402,431.19. The contract appeared again at the September 15 meeting.
The road plan then lists two East Hillcrest reconstruction projects:
- Eastridge Drive to the Plum Creek bridge. Concrete with curb and storm sewer, including a bike trail spur. Estimated construction cost is $1,302,000. The plan shows a summer 2026 bid and lists construction as 2026/2027. It ranks this project first in the city's one-year plan, just ahead of the bridge.
- Columbia Avenue to Eastridge Drive. Estimated construction cost is $2,120,000, with engineering in 2026, a bid in fall 2026 and construction in 2027.
Taken together, the plan rebuilds East Hillcrest from Columbia Avenue all the way to the new bridge. It also connects a bike trail spur to the shared-use path that city staff built from Columbia to Karol Kay, a $95,000 project listed as completed in FY2026. The road plan is marked as a draft, so these years are projections. On paper, though, the east side's road work stretches well past the bridge and through 2027.
Where the next update will come from
Three things will move the timeline, in this order. First is the posted result for C.N. 13524, which was scheduled for NDOT's October 1 letting. Next is a Seward City Council action awarding or approving the bridge contract. Last is the fall bid for East Hillcrest between Columbia and Eastridge. NDOT publishes its letting schedule on its highway and bridge letting page. Council actions appear in the Seward County Independent's condensed proceedings, usually a few weeks after each meeting. For project questions, the 2025 fact sheet lists City Engineer Michael Oneby at 402-643-2928, ext. 203.
If you're weighing a home on Seward's east side, or getting ready to list one while East Hillcrest is under construction, timing and access questions like these are worth working out early. Randy Ralston follows Seward's road and development projects as part of everyday local market work and is glad to walk through what they mean for your plans. Let's Connect.
