BROKEN BOW, Neb. – Travelers in the area of Broken Bow and Merna have seen them for some time, but they were only recently turned on for use. Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT) dynamic message signs are keeping motorists informed from their location in highway ditches.
Tom Renninger (Highway Operations Division Manager) and Roger Klasna (District Operations and Maintenance Manager) with NDOT explained that the boards on either side of Broken Bow and on Highway 92 near Merna are a third option between the large message boards above Interstate 80 and small portable devices.
“It’s basically and evolution of communicating to the traveling public situations or events or incidents that may be of interest to them to help them prepare for their future travel. Over the years it has evolved, and highway 2 is a major corridor along Nebraska highways that is very important for travelers,” Klasna explained.
After sitting idle for a while after being installed, the boards are seeing their first season of use as part of less than ten total of their kind across the state. Broken Bow’s central location on Highway 2 and Highway 92’s consistent winter weather concerns made them strong candidates to be among the first installed.
There are no guidelines or predeterminations when it comes to what messages can be displayed.
“It can be specific to a car crash, it could be specific to a fire like the wildfires we had, or winter road conditions or closures, or whatever would affect the traveler,” said Klasna.
As for how the message is displayed, District Superintendent Clifford Bryan is the connection between local officials and the operations center that turns on the displays from Omaha.
“He works with the local emergency management officials or other officials to have an understanding of what’s going on and what needs to be posted. Like the fires we recently had in Broken Bow or of course the last one was the winter event we recently had,” Klasna explained.
Renninger and Klasna said that the boards have been effective in their use so far and that there are plans to put up more of the side mount boards elsewhere in the state in the future.
