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Roads and Intersections to Avoid in Omaha

By Jason Bottlinger on March 6, 2022

Everybody knows that Nebraska is rural state, full of farms and ranches. But we also have almost two million people operating around 2.4 million registered vehicles. About one out of six Nebraska residents live in Omaha, and a over 13 million people visit the city every year.

The daily commute of people who work in Omaha combined with all those visitors who are unfamiliar with our roads and traffic creates a lot of congestion and car accidents. According to Quote Wizard, an insurance comparison platform, Omaha has the worst drivers in the country.

Our Commutes Are Getting Longer

Traffic continues to get worse in Omaha. According to TomTom International, Omaha congestion spikes by nearly a third during rush hour. The geolocation technology specialist tracked 310 million miles of Omaha traffic to create a global report on the average congestion in the city, and the numbers weren’t encouraging. The TomTom report confirms what residents already know – our daily commutes are getting longer. In fact, the average commute is now over twenty minutes.

The Metropolitan Area Planning Agency and our state’s Department of Transportation are working on a long-range plans to address the traffic situations, but it won’t be easy. One proposed solution calls for upgrading local infrastructure, and officials are considering plan to expand Interstate 80 to six lanes. The estimated cost of these improvements is $7.4 billion.

Roads and Intersections to Avoid

Driving in Nebraska isn’t for the faint of heart. Three fourths of the state’s roads are unpaved, we have some of the highest speed limits in the country, and Nebraska drivers are notorious for driving fast. Really fast. During the most recent Christmas Holiday weekend, the Nebraska State Patrol gave out 19 tickets for drivers exceeding 100 mph, including one for a motorcycle that was traveling 142 mph.

There are many congested roads and intersections in the city. To get around quickly and safely, you may want to avoid the following:

  • 72nd and Dodge Street. This is the most dangerous intersection in Omaha, with over 50 crashes per year. It’s also the fourth busiest intersection, with over 75,000 vehicles passing through it every day. It’s a challenging intersection for unfamiliar drivers to negotiate because you aren’t allowed to turn left on Dodge Street and the middle express lane that runs eastbound in the morning and westbound in the evening.
  • 90th Street and West Dodge Road. This is the busiest intersection in Omaha handling over 106,000 vehicles per day. It’s also the second most dangerous intersection in the city.
  • The Four-way intersection of 132nd, L Street, Millard Avenue, and Industrial Road. Street Blog USA referred to it as the worst intersection in America and Time Magazine called it the most dangerous intersection for pedestrians. Handling over 70,000 cars per day, it contains over 29 lanes and 19 traffic lights. It’s really hard to know if you’re in the right lane to get where you want to go, causing drivers to make a lot of dangerous lane changes.
  • Interstate 80. At almost 3000 miles, it’s the second longest Interstate Highway in the country, stretching from San Francisco, California to East Teaneck New Jersey. The speed limit between Lincoln and Omaha is 75mph, but it’s often disregarded by drivers on this dangerous patch of highway where crashes are closures happen constantly. In one two-hour period police issued 80 speeding tickets at a single interchange in a futile effort to get drivers to slow down.

Injured in an Accident in Omaha?

If you or a loved one have been injured in a car accident, the insurance companies are not on your side. An experienced car accident attorney can investigate your accident and file a claim to make sure you get the best possible settlement to cover the cost of your injuries.

At Bottlinger Law L.L.C., we handle cases in Omaha and throughout the Midwest. Call (402) 505-8234 today for a FREE consultation. We’re on your side.

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