Plan to ease ballpark traffic

Building a baseball stadium in time for the April 2011 start of the minor league season is only one of many challenges on Sarpy County's lineup card.

The county also must provide easy vehicle access for thousands of fans expected to flock to Omaha Royals baseball games in the mostly rural, undeveloped area of rolling hills and farmland along Nebraska Highway 370.

And the clock is ticking. The work must be done in 18 months.

If fans can't maneuver into and out of stadium parking lots with ease, many spectators won't return for future games, county officials acknowledge.

Last season, the Royals drew an average crowd of 5,456 people per home game at Omaha's Rosenblatt Stadium. Next season will mark the Royals' last at the south Omaha stadium.

“All the roads and utilities work has got to get done before the new stadium opens,” County Administrator Mark Wayne said.

The Sarpy County Board last week approved an agreement with Olsson Associates to determine what roadway and engineering design improvements are needed to address traffic congestion and safety hazards.

Olsson will be paid a flat rate of $107,000, Wayne said.

“The design work will get done this winter,” he added.

Three key intersections along Nebraska Highway 370 — at 120th, 126th and 132nd Streets — will be part of Olsson's traffic study, Wayne said. The ballpark is being built near 126th Street and Highway 370.

Among other services outlined in the contract, Olsson will prepare plans for future traffic signals, right-of-way design, lighting and traffic control.

“This is a very important part of the project,” Wayne said. “This will have a lasting effect on the area, not just for events, but on a day-to-day basis once the project has been completed.”

This month, construction crews continue with excavation and grading, after first moving mounds of dirt in October.

Despite being slowed by wet weather, plans are on track to pour concrete for the main seating bowl before freezing weather settles in.

Wayne said the road improvements near Highway 370 serve two purposes: one, to improve access to the stadium; and two, for other development anticipated in the next five to 10 years.

Among the private developer's plans are an ice arena, a fitness center, an indoor water park, a hotel, restaurants and shopping.

“There are going to be significant improvements to have traffic access off of Highway 370,” said County Board member Tom Richards of Bellevue. “We are committed to building the stadium, and you have got to have the roads to get in and out of it.”

Perhaps in another five or 10 years, Wayne said, the state may need to widen Highway 370 from four to six lanes near the ballpark, depending on how much additional development occurs.

Contact the writer:

444-1056, john.ferak@owh.com

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