The Lincoln Independent Business Association is urging Lancaster County commissioners to reconsider proposed budget priorities that the organization says leave too little money for roads, bridges and culverts.
Lincoln Zehr addressed commissioners on behalf of LIBA during Tuesday’s meeting. He said the county engineer has identified 943 culvert pipes needing replacement, with an estimated replacement cost of approximately $20,000 each. According to figures Zehr presented, the county has been replacing approximately 65 culverts a year while at least 12 additional culverts fail annually.
Zehr also said six county bridges are classified as critical, another 22 are considered susceptible and five are currently in poor condition. Approximately 20 miles of unpaved county roads carry more than 300 vehicles a day, he said.
“These roads may well be less expensive to pave than to continue to maintain them as gravel roads,” Zehr told commissioners. LIBA’s primary concern is the amount of capital funding available to address those needs.
Zehr said the proposed capital-expenditure budget had been reduced “nearly to zero,” potentially leaving the county’s future one and six-year road plan without a bridge project for six years. He also questioned whether keno and gambling revenue previously directed to the county engineer is still supporting the department.
Zehr also cited what he described as an increase of approximately $20 million in the county’s general fund and a more than 23-percent increase in general-government spending. Those figures were not independently verified during Tuesday’s meeting.
“Our call to action from the Lincoln Independent Business Association is that the commissioners would revisit those budget priorities and provide a clear explanation of how available funds will be used to address the urgent infrastructure needs,” Zehr says.
LIBA asked commissioners to restore what it considers meaningful capital funding for culverts, bridges and heavily traveled roads before committing additional resources to projects that have not received final approval. The Lancaster County Board of Commissioners will hold a public hearing on the proposed fiscal-year 2026–27 budget after its regular meeting on August 25.