After nearly a year of detours, lane closures, and questions about the future of the Fort Crook Road Bridge, Bellevue residents will soon have the opportunity to learn more about what comes next.
The City of Bellevue will host a Fort Crook Road Bridge Study Public Open House on Thursday, November 13, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Bellevue Volunteer Firefighter Hall, 2108 Franklin Street.
The event will include representatives from JEO Consulting Group, the firm conducting the city’s bridge study, who will be available to discuss the condition of the bridge, repair options, and potential long-term solutions. The open house gives residents a chance to hear directly from the engineers and ask questions about where things stand.
The Fort Crook Road Bridge, located just south of Capehart Road, has been partially closed since November 2024, when the city was advised to close the southbound lanes following a state inspection. Southbound traffic was diverted at Capehart Road toward the Kennedy Freeway, while eastbound traffic on Capehart Road was rerouted onto northbound Fort Crook Road. The northbound lanes have remained open.
City Administrator Jim Ristow explained in an update last December that a bi-annual state inspection revealed the bridge’s southbound side had dropped between seven and fifteen inches due to erosion beneath a steel beam support.
“The concrete support under the steel beam eroded, causing the drop,” Ristow said at the time. “An engineering firm was called in to do a deeper inspection, and they recommended immediate closure for safety reasons.”
Originally built more than 50 years ago, the Fort Crook Road Bridge was under Sarpy County’s jurisdiction until the area was annexed by the City of Bellevue in early 2023. The city had planned to repair the bridge’s surface decking, but inspections revealed more significant structural issues that required immediate closure.
