OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – The Highway 75 South Bypass in Blair a little over a month old. It is designed to connect 75 to Highway 30 and divert traffic from a busy downtown route known as Washington Street.

“I noticed quite a bit of traffic on there,” said CJ Heaton, Blair’s public works director. “The truck traffic that we all hoped to move there is starting to pick up. I think word is going around that it is open and available.

However, it took some time to get the word out about the new route. Christy Jaworski owns “V. Farm,” a local boutique on Washington Street. She says when semi-trailers always pass by her store, the windows shake and adds that the more people there are, the harder it is for her customers to get to her store.

“When they have to get out of their car, because of the way they park on the street, right in front of my store, eastbound, they have to get out and brave the semis that are right next to them ,” Jaworski said.

She is in favor of the bypass and hopes that over time these tractor-trailers will move to the bypass. Heaton says getting the message out is part of the plan.

“We’ve contacted the state, NDOT is going to put up alternate route signs for trucks around town,” Heaton said.

He hopes GPS programs like Google and Apple Maps will be updated to let drivers know the bypass exists. In some cases, the route is not displayed correctly when typing. However, this is not up to him.

“There are so many different products and software companies doing this, I think it’s just going to take time to get everything updated,” Heaton said.

The city is also considering adding traffic lights at the intersection of Highways 75 and 30. A traffic study is putting the installation of those lights on hold, but the city is allowed to begin designing what they will look like.

“We’re looking at waiting until spring before people see them,” Heaton said.

Once the lights are on, it should be easier to cross Highway 75.

“On top of that, the city annexed, recently further away, Highway 75, so we also asked to lower that speed limit to 45 mph a few miles outside of the city,” Heaton said. “What we hope will slow that down so you’re not going 60 mph coming to that intersection.”

Blair also plans to make Washington Street more walkable in the future as less semi-circular traffic floods the area. Heaton says progress is being made on building a northern bypass, but it will be about 10 years before the earth is moved.

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