Please browse the interactive map below to learn more about corridor completion and Heartland Expressway Association members. The ‘completion status’ outlines the segments of the corridor which have been completed as 4-lane divided highway, what is programmed for construction of additional lane miles, and what remains two-lane highway.

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In Nebraska

  • State Highway 71 is 2-lane from CO/NE border north to Interstate 80, Kimball, NE a distance of 15 miles.
  • 4-lane reliever route on NE 71 at I-80 goes around the east side of Kimball and continues north for 47 miles to Gering, NE.
  • Another reliever route takes NE 71 traffic on the east side of Scottsbluff/Gering, connecting with 4-lane highway US 26.
  • The route proceeds as a 4-lane highway east another 6 miles to Minatare, NE where it reverts back to 2-lane for another 15 miles.
  • The junction between this portion of US 26 and US 385 is known as the L-62A junction. From this location north, through Alliance and Chadron, NE, the route (US 385) is an improved 2-lane with some passing lanes, spanning nearly 100 miles to the NE/SD border.

In South Dakota

  • 79 miles of state highway SD79/US 385 has been engineered as a 4-lane divided highway and was completed from Rapid City (Interstate 90) to the Nebraska state line in 2014.

In Colorado

  • Highway 71 from Limon to Brush is unimproved two lane.
  • Highway 71 from Brush to Highway 14, is unimproved two lane.
  • Highway 14 are two lane with wider shoulders.
  • Highway 71 from Highway 14 to the CO/NE border is unimproved two lane.
  • Interstate 76 from connecting the Metro Denver region to the primary backbone is built to interstate standards.

In a nutshell, the unfinished or 2 lane portion of the Heartland Expressway in Nebraska is primarily between Minatare, NE (just east of Scottsbluff/Gering) to the NE/SD border, a distance of 115 miles. Currently, the State of NE Department of Roads is conducting an updated corridor management study on the entire route, as well as finishing the environmental study for the L62A to Alliance, NE portion (26 miles). This portion is on the state’s master road plan and will be the next Nebraska section to be expanded to 4 lanes beginning in 2015. The Heartland Expressway Association will continue to lobby for additional state and federal funds to complete the entire route as a 4-lane expressway.

Upcoming Projects

All final phases of the highway project between Minatare and US-385 south of Alliance have been funded for construction. Those phases of the highway project north of Alliance to the state line have been funded for design.