OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - Residents just south of Omaha are concerned that a highway project from Bellevue to Plattsmouth will create long-lasting issues.

The Highway 75 construction involves bridge and pavement work to create a four-lane expressway and realign several roads to provide access to new interchanges, the Omaha World-Herald (https://bit.ly/2iuONIL ) reported.

Residents in the Normandy Hills and Cedar View neighborhoods have had two entry points from the highway for years. But the intersections will be closed, and a single access road being built to the north will become the only way in and out of the area.

Resident Sarah Hirz said she’s worried about access to the neighborhoods, particularly for first responders and snow removal.

“I understand the state has budget constraints,” Hirz said. “But this is something I believe is going to impact property values, safety and health.”

Nebraska Department of Roads spokeswoman Vicki Kramer said the department and Sarpy County will provide emergency access through a locked gate. Kramer noted that local residents were consulted more than a decade ago, when the plans to close the roads went public.

But residents said many of them did not live in the neighborhood a decade ago and that they weren’t informed of the road closures when purchasing the homes.

The construction project is expected to be completed in 2019. Sarpy County engineer Denny Wilson said the county will get a better idea of any necessary changes when the highway construction is complete, but until then it will be difficult to estimate safety issues in the area.

Wilson said if it’s decided that another entrance is needed, then it could take more than six years until resources make it possible.

Hirz is convinced that another entrance to the neighborhood won’t ever be built.

“The thing that bothers me is that the human factor is missing in the equation,” she said.

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Information from: Omaha World-Herald, https://www.omaha.com

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