There is good news and bad news for those headed to Memorial Stadium for Saturday's first game of the season. This should be the best drive to Lincoln in years, but it will not be trouble-free.
You will want to give yourself some extra time for traffic jams, but the troubled areas are all near Lincoln.
Heading out of the metro is the easy part, all three lanes wide and 75 mph. It is as you approach Lincoln that things begin to get interesting.
Speeds drop to 65 just east of the Greenwood exit and that is also where the three lanes narrow to two. A short distance later westbound lanes cross over and are separated from those headed east by Jersey curbs.
The future Interstate looks ready for traffic, but there is still some work that needs to be done before it is ready for Lincoln-bound vehicles.
"To tie it in on the west end east of the Waverly interchange, yet once they get that tied in then they can open it up and it should open up yet this fall," said Roger Kalkwarf with the Nebraska Department Of Roads. Will drivers be able to use it for some home games? "I don't know if it will be open by then or not."
The Nebraska Department of Roads offers one piece of advice, keep your eyes on the electronic boards they're constantly updating to help avoid problems. That is until you reach Lincoln.
"When they start coming into Lincoln because the traffic is trying to get in downtown and into all the parking garages and so actually I-180 gets backed up the most," said Kalwarf.
Once you are in Lincoln there is more construction to deal with. City crews are racing to have everything in place before the game.
