Nebraska Crash Hot Spots: The Most Dangerous Roads and Intersections

Where Nebraska Traffic Deaths Happen

NDOT’s year-end fatality comparison counts 231 traffic deaths on Nebraska roads in 2025, down from 252 the year before, while its monthly toll and fatality history list 227 for the year. The year-end comparison is the one with the breakdowns below. Two out of three deaths happened in rural areas, and the single biggest group, 115, came on highways other than the interstates, which accounted for fewer than one in ten. The worrying number is pedestrians: 33 were killed, up from 19 in 2024.

This year is running a little lower: NDOT’s daily fatality count showed 172 deaths by late October 2026, against 182 at the same point in 2025. The state’s 2022 to 2026 Strategic Highway Safety Plan sets seven priorities, among them seat belt use, lane departure crashes, impaired driving, crashes involving people on foot or on bikes, and intersection crashes. By late November 2025, Nebraska Public Media reported, citing NDOT records, that the year already had the most pedestrian deaths since at least 1992.

The Nebraska Roads Where Serious Crashes Keep Happening

These roads come up in Nebraska crash coverage again and again. Where NDOT, a city or the Omaha area’s planning agency has published numbers, they’re here.

1. Dodge Street: Downtown Omaha to West Dodge Road

Dodge is Omaha’s main east-west street, and it’s most intense from 72nd Street out to 90th and West Dodge Road. By the Metropolitan Area Planning Agency’s 2022 traffic counts, 90th and West Dodge was the busiest intersection in the Omaha and Council Bluffs region at about 91,000 vehicles a day, and 72nd and Dodge ranked third at about 76,000. With that much traffic, rear-enders, sideswipes and angle crashes from turning traffic are routine.

Median gaps cause outsized trouble. A city traffic study found 70th and Dodge, just east of 72nd, averaged 16 crashes a year, compared with 1.5 at similar intersections, so in June 2023 Omaha built a median island there to end left turns across three lanes of Dodge.

2. West Omaha Arterials: 108th and Q, 120th and Center, 132nd and Industrial Road

West Omaha’s wide arterials, lined with shopping centers, carry some of the heaviest traffic in the state. MAPA’s 2022 counts put 132nd Street and Industrial Road fifth in the region, at about 69,500 vehicles a day, with 120th and West Center Road at about 50,500 and 108th and Q at about 39,500. Industrial Road runs at an angle to the street grid, so that crossing has more going on than most.

The typical wrecks are rear-enders at backed-up signals, T-bones from drivers turning left on a yellow, and right-turning drivers hitting people in crosswalks.

3. Interstate 80: Omaha to the Wyoming Line

I-80 runs the length of the state, from the Missouri River in Omaha past Lincoln, Grand Island, Kearney and North Platte to the Wyoming border. In 2025, NDOT counted 22 deaths on all Nebraska interstates combined, 17 of them in rural areas. Crashes at 75 mph tend to be bad ones, and winter can close long stretches in blowing snow.

Work zones are a constant. NDOT counted 108 crashes in I-80 work zones in 2025 through November 30, out of 451 in work zones statewide. Crews are widening I-80 to six lanes with a median barrier between Pleasant Dale and NW 56th Street west of Lincoln, a project NDOT expects to finish in 2027.

4. U.S. 75: Bellevue to North Omaha

U.S. 75 is the north-south freeway on Omaha’s east side: the Kennedy Freeway from Bellevue up to I-80, then, after a run along I-480 past downtown, the North Freeway. Ramps come close together, and drivers merging on and off in a short space make for sideswipes and rear-enders at rush hour.

NDOT is studying the freeway from Highway 370 in Bellevue to I-80, and its U.S. 75 corridor study lists finding where weaving and short ramp spacing drive high crash rates as a goal, especially north of L Street. MAPA’s regional safety plan data also points to impaired driving crash clusters along major corridors such as U.S. 75 and U.S. 6, particularly near Bellevue.

5. 27th Street and O Street: Lincoln

Where 27th Street crosses O Street, Lincoln’s main east-west commercial street, there’s a steady load of turning traffic, buses and people on foot. Lincoln Transportation and Utilities data reported by KLKN put 27th and O first among Lincoln intersections for crashes in 2020, with 40. On the south side, 70th and Pine Lake Road had 35 that year and 27th and Highway 2 had 33.

Lincoln’s new Vision Zero Action Plan, approved by the City Council in 2026, counted 118 fatal crashes and 1,187 serious injury crashes in the city from 2014 to 2023.

6. Nebraska Highway 2: Lincoln to Nebraska City

Highway 2 is the four-lane route southeast from Lincoln past Palmyra and Syracuse to Nebraska City. It’s fast, and side roads cross it at grade, so a driver pulling out or turning left has to judge gaps in highway-speed traffic coming from both directions.

NDOT’s Palmyra East and West project is rebuilding the crossings at Highway 43 and at Spur 66A with restricted crossing U-turns, where side-road drivers turn right and then make a U-turn at a median opening. The $5.7 million project, with new lighting, was scheduled for construction from spring to fall 2026.

7. U.S. 30, U.S. 81 and Nebraska’s Rural Highways

Most Nebraska traffic deaths happen outside the cities, and the biggest share of those come on highways like U.S. 30 through Grand Island and Kearney, U.S. 81 through York, Columbus and Norfolk, U.S. 83 through North Platte, and U.S. 6, U.S. 77 and U.S. 275. NDOT counted 98 deaths on rural highways other than interstates in 2025, more than on every urban road in the state combined.

The crashes look alike: run-off-road wrecks and rollovers, head-ons on two-lane stretches, and collisions with grain trucks or farm equipment at harvest. In Grand Island, the city has lined up intersection work on U.S. 281 from U.S. 30 to State Street, with the state paying part of the cost through safety funding, ahead of a larger NDOT rebuild of the highway.

More High-Crash Locations Across Nebraska

City plans, NDOT and local reporting have put numbers on specific streets and intersections, mostly in Omaha and Lincoln. These are the ones with published figures.

Several of these are getting work. In August 2026, Omaha restriped Ames Avenue from four lanes to three, with a center turn lane and bike lanes, part of the city’s Vision Zero goal of ending traffic deaths and serious injuries by 2045. In Lincoln, the new Safe Streets Lincoln plan lays out 19 projects and 24 strategies aimed at ending fatal crashes and cutting severe injuries 60% by 2045, while NDOT’s Highway 2 crossings near Palmyra were scheduled for 2026.

How to Stay Safe on Nebraska’s Most Dangerous Roads

You can’t avoid these roads, and you don’t need to. Knowing where the trouble spots are goes a long way.

For Drivers:

1. Treat two-lane highways with respect: Rural highways other than the interstates are where Nebraska loses the most people. On roads like U.S. 30 and U.S. 81, pass only where you can see well ahead, and watch for farm equipment.
2. Give yourself room on Dodge Street: Between 72nd and 90th, traffic stops hard and lanes shift at turn bays. Leave space ahead of you and don’t make last-second lane changes for a turn.
3. Buckle up, every seat, every trip: Seat belt use is one of NDOT’s safety plan priorities, and a rural rollover is far more survivable with a belt on.
4. Slow down for weather on I-80: Snow, ice and high winds can turn the interstate dangerous in minutes, especially on the open stretches out west. Check conditions before you leave.
5. Use the new crossover designs the way they’re built: Where NDOT is adding restricted crossing U-turns, like on Highway 2 near Palmyra, turn right and then U-turn instead of trying to cross the highway in one move.

For Pedestrians:

1. Cross at signals where you can: On wide streets like Ames Avenue, Dodge Street and O Street, crossing mid-block leaves drivers almost no time to react.
2. Be visible after dark: Wear something light or reflective, especially where there’s no sidewalk.
3. Don’t assume you’ve been seen: Wait until a car has fully stopped, and watch for drivers turning right on red.

For Cyclists:

1. Use trails and bike lanes: Omaha and Lincoln both have long trail networks. Use them where they line up with your route, and stay as far right as is safe where they don’t.
2. Light up: Run front and rear lights at night and in low light, and use hand signals.
3. Watch turning traffic: Drivers turning across your path at intersections are a common cause of bike crashes. Never assume a driver will yield.

General Tips:

1. Check 511 before a long drive: Nebraska 511 shows road conditions, closures and work zones on I-80 and the state highways.
2. Plan around harvest and storms: Fall brings grain trucks and combines onto rural roads, and summer storms can bring hail and blowing rain.
3. Note your location: On I-80 and rural highways, keep track of the nearest mile marker or exit so responders can find you.

What to Do If You’re Injured in a Nebraska Car Accident

A wreck on Dodge Street, I-80 or a highway miles from town can leave you hurt and unsure what comes next. The first hours and days matter.

1. Call 911. Even if nobody looks badly hurt, get law enforcement to the scene so there’s an official crash report, which is what insurers rely on. If anyone is seriously injured, ask for an ambulance.
2. Get checked out. Concussions, whiplash and internal injuries don’t always show up right away. Go to the ER or urgent care, then follow up with your own doctor.
3. Document the scene if it’s safe. Photograph the vehicles, damage and plates, plus skid marks, signs, weather and road conditions. Get witnesses’ names and phone numbers, and swap insurance information with the other driver without admitting fault.
4. Be careful with adjusters. The other driver’s insurer may call within days. You can politely decline a recorded statement until you have your crash report and understand your options.
5. Keep everything. Medical records, bills, repair estimates, missed work and every letter or email from an insurer.

In Nebraska, the State Patrol, county sheriffs and city police all work crashes, so the agency that responded depends on where you crashed, and NDOT keeps a copy of the reports that drivers and officers file. Our Nebraska crash report guide explains how to get one.

Don’t know which agency took your report, or would rather skip the paperwork? We can get a copy of your report for you at no cost.

Nebraska Crash Hot Spot Questions

More Nebraska Crash Guides

County accident news: Douglas County · Lancaster County · Sarpy County · Hall County · Lincoln County · Madison County

Nearby states: Iowa crash hot spots · Wyoming crash hot spots · Kansas crash hot spots

For the latest, crashes from around the state are posted in Nebraska accident news and our recent accident alerts.