Their presence finds its start around 2018, Dennis Grennan, who was on the streetscaping committee at the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce at the time. The chamber heard about the Nebraska Department of Transportation's (NDOT) five-year plan, which involved fixing up U.S. Highway 30 and the idea of piggybacking off of that to get some improvements done resulted in the streetscaping committee.

"We formed our streetscaping committee through the chamber, kind of a subcommittee of the transportation committee, to take the lead on figuring out what that might look like," Grennan said. "You know, what kind of streetscaping would be required and how we would get that done through the project."

The committee worked with the city, NDOT, civil engineers from Wilson and Company and a subconsultant working with Wilson and Company called Confluence, a group that specializes in streetscaping.

Working together, the disparate organizations created a plan with a budget of $600,000 — $500,000 from the city and $100,000 from the chamber.

"We started with a lot of ideas along the whole 23rd corridor and then Confluence kind of helped us figure out where things should go all the way," Grennan said. "Our trees, where they could go, how many signs, banners along the way and so forth. We had a lot of different ideas on the table back then."

A few years later, the bids were all submitted by NDOT and the actual cost, in 2022, turned out to be closer to $1.3 million, Grennan said, so they had to make some cuts to fit the budget, such as painted intersections and banners, but there were several things they absolutely wanted to keep, including the 26th Avenue "island."

Vanessa Oceguera with Keep Columbus Beautiful played a big part in the development of the project by keeping track of the finances during these times, Grennan said.

"We definitely wanted to keep as many trees as we could, because we get the most bang for the buck from trees, we ended up with about 250 trees along the corridor, 32 varieties," Grennan said. "We kept the back-lit street signs. We were able to keep things like the 26th Avenue intersection there, you can see there's some ground cover, some little bushes have gone in with about five trees."

Tom Lange, the NDOT project director for the U.S. Highway 30 project, said the trees have been selected carefully to ensure they won't present any hazards to drivers' lines-of-sight.

"Prior to putting the project together, (the City of Columbus) did a study, more or less, to verify that the trees would not block any sight distances and they were salt and water resistant," Lange said. "They obviously will get bigger over time, but they're supposed to survive under those conditions and not to be a sight hazard to the traveling public."

For the first six months after project completion the contractors who planted the trees, shrubs and such will take care of them, with the city picking up after that, Lange said.

The project cuts off close to 31st Avenue with construction being completed for this year. They will pick back up early next year and are on track to finish the U.S. Highway 30 construction by their previously projected November 2025 end date, Lange said.

The Nebraska State Patrol already has made nearly 200 more DUI arrests through early December than all of last year.

December is National Impaired Driving Prevention Month, and the State Patrol and other law enforcement agencies have been focusing on finding impaired drivers during this holiday season.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that more than 4,700 lives were lost in drunk-driving crashes in the month of December between 2018 and 2022 nationally.

“The holidays come with all sorts of celebrations, many involving alcohol,” said State Patrol Colonel John Bolduc.

The State Patrol was allocated $42,886 in grant money from the Nebraska Department of Transportation to focus on impaired driving enforcement.

Officers are taking a zero-tolerance stance to drivers who are under the influence of drugs or alcohol, Thomas said, and not just during the holidays.

The State Patrol has seen a big increase in the number of DUI arrests in the last two years, with 2023 seeing a 23% increase from 2022.

Troopers made 962 arrests related to DUIs in 2022. The following year, the number jumped to 1,188. Through early December, the State Patrol had already made 1,339 arrests this year.

Statistics from the National Highway Safety Administration showed that 67 roadway fatalities in Nebraska were alcohol-related in 2022, accounting for 28% of all fatalities that year.

In August, 39-year-old David Warren of Beatrice was found guilty of manslaughter and driving under the influence, causing serious bodily injuries from an October 2023 crash.

Chief Deputy Ben Houchin, at a press conference after the crash, said an SUV driven by Warren was traveling north on Southwest 14th Street when it collided with the rear of a grain trailer being hauled by a semi. The SUV spun into the southbound lane, crashing into the vehicle Kreifels and a passenger were in.

Deputies discovered a four-vehicle crash in the area. Kreifels was pronounced dead at the scene. A 54-year-old woman suffered serious injuries, while Warren ended up in the bed of Kreifels’s pickup truck with a serious leg injury.

According to court documents, multiple 99-proof bottles were found inside Warren’s car, and his blood alcohol content was 0.176, more than double the legal limit.

Kreifels’ family was in attendance at Warren’s sentencing, and they were in tears as Warren asked for their forgiveness. Warren’s family was also in attendance, sniffling as they wiped tears after hearing the sentence he received for his actions.

“There are people who aren’t even born when crashes happen who live their life impacted by an impaired driver,” Mother Against Drunk Driving Mission Operations Director Erin Payton said.

Warren was sentenced to 20 years in prison for driving drunk, which led to the death of 53-year-old Bradley Kreifels of Crete.

Deputies with the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office were sent to the crash near Southwest 14th Street and Nebraska 33 on Oct. 28, 2023.

Getting more impaired drivers off the state’s roads can help prevent serious accidents.

“We work with victims every single day who had their families and lives torn apart (from crashes with an impaired driver),” she said.

Payton said she understands that the holiday season is a time of joy, which may lead to social drinking for some. But she said the key is to have a plan before going out somewhere you know you will be consuming alcohol or drugs.

Ride-sharing apps like Uber or Lyft are great alternatives to driving. Payton and law enforcement also recommend designating a sober driver.

“We know alcohol is part of people’s lives. What we ask is before you go out for these celebrations and these fun times with family and friends, before you even leave the house, make a plan,” Payton said.

The Axtell students' winning name was Chilli Vanilli.There were 16 winning entries announced Tuesday in the Nebraska Department of Transportation contest.

The NDOT said in its announcement that the contest strives to bring awareness about winter weather preparedness and safety to Nebraska’s elementary and middle school students.

This year, NDOT received more that 1,300 submissions from across the state, setting a new record for the contest.

NDOT visited the winning schools to personally congratulate the students. During the visits, students had the chance to see the newly named snowplows up close and ask NDOT snow fighters questions about snow removal and plow operations.

“This contest is an excellent opportunity to highlight the effort that goes into ensuring our roads are safe, especially during winter,” said NDOT Director Vicki Kramer. “Engaging with students allows us to tell our story while delivering a safety message to Nebraska’s future drivers.”

NDOT operates a fleet of more than 600 snowplows to ensure driver safety during winter weather. During winter storm event, each plow is deployed with a full tank of liquids and salts to treat the road surface.

As winter approaches, drivers can view travel conditions and stay informed by tracking both the newly named snowplows and past winners in real time at 511.nebraska.gov. Video and photos from the events are available at: ndot.info/snowplow.

Schools with winning snowplow names are:
1. Avalanche, Johnson County Central Public Schools;
2. Fast & Snowiest, Blumfield Elementary School;
3. Aspiradora de Nieve (Snow Vacuum Cleaner;
4. Han Solo and Up to No Good, Meadows Elementary School;
5. CTRL-Snow Delete, Shell Creek Elementary School;
6. Snow Snow Power Rangers, Stanton Community Schools;
7. Mr. Freeze, Doniphan-Trumbull Public Schools;
8. Snowcus Pocus, High Plains Community Schools;
9. Hungry Hungry Snow Eater, Geil Elementary;
10. Pete the Plow, Rushville Elementary School;
11. Snow Rex, Wallace Public School;
12. Who Let the Plows Out?!, Hershey Public Schools;
13. Chilli Vanilli, Axtell Community Schools;
14. Freeze Fighter, Maywood Public School;
15. Cold and Bold, Loup County Public Schools;
16. Slusher Crusher, Keya Paha County Schools.