U.S. Route 20 in Nebraska

Infobox road
state=NE
type=US
route=20
alternate_name=


length_mi=428.35
length_round=2
length_ref= [ [http://www.nebraskatransportation.org/docs/logbook.pdf Nebraska Highway Reference Log Book] ]
established=1926
direction_a=West
starting_terminus=Wyoming border west of Harrison
junction=
direction_b=East
ending_terminus=Iowa border at South Sioux City
previous_type=NE
previous_route=19
next_type=NE
next_route=21
cities=Harrison, Crawford, Chadron, Hay Springs, Rushville, Gordon, Valentine, Atkinson, O'Neill, Plainview, South Sioux City

U.S. Highway 20 in Nebraska is a major east-west artery running across northern Nebraska. It enters the state in sparsely populated northwest Nebraska as a rural two lane highway. It exits concurrently with Interstate 129 and U.S. Highway 75 by a Missouri River crossing at South Sioux City.

Route description

There are four primary sections of U.S. 20 in Nebraska, as follows:

Wyoming State Line to Valentine

U.S. 20 enters Nebraska from Wyoming near the Niobrara River and continues 9 miles before encountering the first city on the route, Harrison. It then crosses the White River near Fort Robinson and, at Crawford heads northeast where it meets with U.S. Highway 385 for two miles before entering Chadron. It then heads southeast toward Hay Springs where it again turns in an east/northeasterly direction toward Merriman. At this point U.S. 20 is only about 5 miles from the South Dakota border. From Merriman it heads east through the small towns of Cody, Nenzel, and Kilgore to Valentine. This 196 mile section of U.S. 20 has been noted by the Department of Roads for its history and natural beauty and has been designated as the "Bridges to Buttes Byway."

Valentine to O'Neill

At Valentine U.S. 20 heads south as it overlaps U.S. Highway 83 for 5 miles. It then continues southeast towards Ainsworth passing through Wood Lake and Johnstown on the way. At Ainsworth it heads due east past Bassett and Newport. Then near Stuart it follows the Elkhorn River through Atkinson and Emmet before meeting up with U.S. 275 in O'Neill.

O'Neill to Jackson

In O'Neill U.S. 20 turns southeast and joins with U.S. Highway 275 for 13 miles, passing through Inman before again branching off on its own. From there it passes through Orchard, Royal, Plainview and Osmond before it junctions with U.S. Highway 81. From there it continues east through Laurel where it turns due north on a concurrency with Nebraska Highway 15 for 3 miles. Heading east again it passes through Willis and then Jackson near the South Sioux City outskirts.

Jackson to Iowa State Line

The last section of U.S. 20 is essentially a southern bypass of South Sioux City About one mile before the U.S. 20/U.S. 75/77 Jct it becomes an expressway. At the junction of U.S. Highway 75 and U.S. Highway 77 it joins with U.S. 75 and Interstate 129 as a freeway into Iowa. From there it continues its function as a southeast bypass of Sioux City.

Former alignment

An older alignment of US-20 ran about 3 miles south of the current section east of Laurel. This alignment went due east from Laurel, passing just north of Dixon and Allen, then headed north to the current alignment along Nebraska Highway 9. [http://www.dm.net/~chris-g/ne1-30.html#US-20 Nebraska Highways 1 to 30] ]

Business routes

*Sioux City: Business U.S. 20 in the Sioux City area originates in Nebraska, at the junction of U.S. 20 and Dakota Avenue in South Sioux City. Business U.S. 20 follows U.S. 20's old alignment through South Sioux City before crossing into Iowa concurrently with U.S. Route 77.

References

External links

* [http://www.nebraskaroads.com/roads/usroutes/6-38.html#20 Nebraska Roads: US 6-38]