U.S. Route 20 in Nebraska

This article is about the section of U.S. Route 20 in Nebraska. For the entire route, see U.S. Route 20.

U.S. Highway 20
Route information
Maintained by NDOT
Length	431.57 mi (694.54 km)
Existed	1926–present
Major junctions
West end	US 20 west of Harrison
Major intersections	US 385 near Chadron US 83 near Valentine US 183 at Bassett US 281 at O'Neill US 275 at O'Neill US 81 near Randolph US 75 / US 77 near South Sioux City
East end	I-129 / US 20 / US 75 at South Sioux City
Location
Country	United States
State	Nebraska
Highway system
United States Numbered Highway System List Special Divided Nebraska State Highway System Interstate US State Link Spur State Spurs Recreation
← N-19 → N-21

U.S. Highway 20 in Nebraska is a major east–west artery running across northern Nebraska. It enters the state in sparsely populated northwest Nebraska as a rural two lane highway. It exits concurrently with Interstate 129 and U.S. Highway 75 by a Missouri River crossing at South Sioux City.

Route description

U.S. 20 enters Nebraska from Wyoming near the Niobrara River and continues 9 miles (14 km) before encountering the first city on the route, Harrison. It then crosses the White River near Fort Robinson and, at Crawford heads northeast where it meets with U.S. Highway 385 for two miles (3 km) before entering Chadron. It then heads southeast toward Hay Springs where it again turns in an east/northeasterly direction toward Merriman. At this point U.S. 20 is only about 5 miles (8.0 km) from the South Dakota border. From Merriman it heads east through the small towns of Cody, Nenzel, and Kilgore to Valentine. This 196-mile (315 km) section of U.S. 20 has been noted by the Department of Roads for its history and natural beauty and has been designated as the "Bridges to Buttes Byway."

US 20 enters Nebraska

At Valentine U.S. 20 heads south as it overlaps U.S. Highway 83 for 5 miles (8.0 km). It then continues southeast towards Ainsworth passing through Wood Lake and Johnstown on the way. At Ainsworth it heads due east past Bassett and Newport. Then near Stuart it follows the Elkhorn River through Atkinson and Emmet before meeting up with U.S. 275 in O'Neill.

In O'Neill U.S. 20 turns southeast and joins with U.S. Highway 275 for 13 miles (21 km), passing through Inman before again branching off on its own. From there it passes through Orchard, Royal, Plainview and Osmond before it junctions with U.S. Highway 81. From there it continues east through Laurel where it turns due north on a concurrency with Nebraska Highway 15 for 3 miles (4.8 km). Heading east again it passes through Willis and then Jackson near the South Sioux City outskirts.

The last section of U.S. 20 is essentially a southern bypass of South Sioux City. About one mile (1.6 km) before the U.S. 20/U.S. 75/77 Jct it becomes an expressway. At the junction of U.S. Highway 75 and U.S. Highway 77 it joins with U.S. 75 and Interstate 129 as a freeway into Iowa. From there it continues its function as a southeast bypass of Sioux City.

Former alignment

An older alignment of US-20 ran about 3 miles (4.8 km) south of the current section east of Laurel. This alignment went due east from Laurel, passing just north of Dixon and Allen, then headed north to the current alignment along Nebraska Highway 9.

History

In November, 2010, Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman approved designating US-20 from Hay Springs to Fort Robinson in honor of Crazy Horse, capping a year-long effort by citizens of Chadron. The designation may extend east another 100 miles through Cherry County to Valentine. These segments of US-20 are also part of the Nebraska Bridges to Buttes Scenic Highway and follows the well-known Cowboy Line, a partially abandoned railroad now used as a hiking and biking trail.

Major intersections

County	Location	Mile	Junction	Notes
Sioux		0.00	US 20 west	Wyoming border
	Harrison	8.99	N-29 south (Main Street)
Dawes	Crawford	35.34	N-2 east / N-71 south	West end of NE 2/NE 71 overlap
		36.20	N-2 west / N-71 north	East end of NE 2/NE 71 overlap
	Whitney	45.07
		56.06
		56.39	US 385 north	West end of US 385 overlap
	Chadron	58.59	US 385 south (Ash Street)	East end of US 385 overlap
Sheridan	Hay Springs	78.88	N-87 south	West end of NE 87 overlap
	Rushville	90.27	N-87 north	East end of NE 87 overlap
		91.29	N-250 south (Chamberlain Street)
	Gordon	105.91	N-27 (South Main Street)
Cherry	Merriman	135.81	N-61 south (Mills Street)	West end of NE 61 overlap
		135.84	N-61 north	East end of NE 61 overlap
	Nenzel	167.03
	Valentine	196.72	N-97 south (Airport Road)
		196.92	US 83 north (South Main Street)	West end of US 83 overlap
		202.08	US 83 south	East end of US 83 overlap
Brown	Ainsworth	242.08	N-7 south (North Main Street)	West end of NE 7 overlap
	Long Pine	247.55	US 183 north	West end of US 183 overlap
		250.39
Rock	Bassett	259.17	US 183 south / N-7 north (Clark Street)	East end of US 183/NE 7 overlap
	Newport	270.25	N-137 north (4th Street)
Holt	Atkinson	289.25	N-11 north	West end of NE 11 overlap
		289.76	N-11 south (South Hyde Street)	East end of NE 11 overlap
	O'Neill	307.09	US 281 north (North Harrison Street)	West end of US 281 overlap
		307.59	US 281 south (South 4th Street) / US 275	East end of US 281 overlap, west end of US 275 overlap
		320.62	US 275 south	East end of US 275 overlap
	Page	322.80
	Ewing	326.69
Antelope		342.73	N-14
	Brunswick	345.77
		349.75	N-13 north	West end of NE 13 overlap
Pierce	Plainview	354.43	N-13 south	East end of NE 13 overlap
	Osmond	364.55	N-121 south (546th Avenue)	West end of NE 121 overlap
		367.84	N-121 north (549th Avenue)	East end of NE 121 overlap
	McLean	371.83
		373.83	US 81 (555th Avenue)
Cedar	Belden	385.36	N-57 north (566th Avenue)	West end of NE 57 overlap
		386.38	N-57 south (567th Avenue)	East end of NE 57 overlap
	Laurel	391.41	N-15 south	West end of NE 15 overlap
		393.92	N-15 north (572 Avenue)	East end of NE 15 overlap
		394.62	N-59 west (872nd Road)
Dixon		399.20	N-116 south (577 Avenue)
		406.93	N-9 south	West end of NE 9 overlap
		407.74	N-9 north	East end of NE 9 overlap
	Waterbury	413.05
Dakota		418.07	N-12 west
		426.33	N-110 south (G Avenue)
	South Sioux City	428.36	West end of freeway section
			I-129	West end of I-129 overlap
		428.74	US 75 / US 77 south – Fairgrounds	I-129 exit 1A, west end of US 75 overlap
		428.76	US 77 north – Sioux City	I-129 exit 1B
		429.86	South Sioux City, Dakota City	I-129 exit 2
		431.57	I-129 / US 20 east / US 75 north	Iowa border at Sergeant Floyd Memorial Bridge over Missouri River

External links

• Nebraska Roads: US 6-38