VALENTINE, Neb. - Signs of change are in the air. With November just days away, road crews know winter weather season could start soon.

“It’s going to be here whether we want it or not,” said NDOT District 8 Maintenance Superintendent Dennis Connot.

In Valentine, the Nebraska Department of Transportation has some new tools, including a brand-new 27,000-square-foot building.

“This has been a lot of years in the making. I’d say we’ve been on a building waiting list for approximately 15 years,” said Connot.

One of Connot's favorite features in the new facility is a heated wash bay.

“I’ve washed trucks for years and years and years in the freezing cold. When I say years, I mean 40 years. With sub-zero weather, you get cold, you are cold, and you have ice on your rainsuit. It’s like you’re a deep-sea fisherman,” said Connot.

Also improving efficiency? All area NDOT employees are now under one roof.

“As a team, we can work better,” said Highway Project Manager Darrell Lurz.

Lurz points out that the new facility is right off the highway, instead of in the middle of Valentine.

“Before we had to drive through the city limits on city streets to access the highways,” said Lurz.

His team also has access to a lab for testing and sampling materials used in million dollar road projects.

“We shake aggregates, and there’s things like that, so you need room,” said Lurz.

In addition to the Department of Transportation, the new building also houses Nebraska State Patrol.

“They’ll be getting a trooper up to Valentine in the near future,” said Connot.

That trooper will have designated areas for investigations, storage, and interviews.

 

NDOT Salt Building
NDOT Salt Building  

 

And take a look at this mountain of salt. Between the two new salt buildings, the department can house 6000 tons of salt—more than double the old storage space.

“It’s a huge improvement. I can’t say enough that we didn’t have room before to hardly get a truck in to work on. It was just so cramped,” said Connot.

A new, improved space to support crews in keeping highways clear and safe this winter.

You can check out the new building during an open house on Nov. 1 from 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.