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KEARNEY — Money meant for Kearney’s second interstate exit will be used by the state, for now.

A state official said $1.5 million allocated for Kearney’s second Interstate 80 exit is being shifted to help state government fill a $334 million revenue gap.

The $1.5 million is part of $10 million the Nebraska Legislature’s Appropriations Committee found to transfer to the state’s cash reserve fund. The money had been earmarked for seven roads projects, but because those projects are stalled, the state plans to use the funds to address the revenue crisis.

“Instead of that $10 million being transferred from the cash reserve fund to the Department of Roads, it’s going to be transferred to the general fund,” said Mike Lovelace, an analyst in the Nebraska Legislature’s fiscal office.

Lovelace said he is uncertain when the state will restore the $10 million.

Kearney City Manager Mike Morgan said road-building priorities will determine how soon the state restores Kearney’s $1.5 million.

“It’s not accurate to say those funds are lost for Cherry Avenue,” Morgan said. “Within the Department of Roads, they are going to have to prioritize and look at their projects and their timing.”

Morgan said it is possible that other Department of Roads funds might be used to help pay for the Cherry Avenue project.

When federal and state funds for the exit and Cherry Avenue bypass were allocated in 2005, the first phase of construction was expected to begin in 2009 or 2010. Morgan said delays are increasing the project’s cost, which had been pegged at $36.4 million in 2008.

Morgan said Monday that the cost now is projected at more than $50 million.

The city of Kearney’s share is $7.3 million. All but $1.8 million of the $7.3 million comes from federal surface transportation project funds that come to the city.

“We’ve accumulated those for several years in anticipation of this project,” Morgan said about the federal money the city has been setting aside for the exit/bypass.

There are several sources for funding for the project, Morgan said.

“The Department of Roads has a several-hundred-million-dollar budget,” Morgan said. “There are so many different funding sources for this. There are federal funds, which go through the state, that come to the city. There are some city of Kearney funds. There are state funds. We’re not sure where the total funding will be broken down by they time they get to the three-phase project.”

e-mail to:

kevin.hervert@kearneyhub.com

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