City Council approves name change to portion of Hwy 71

A portion of S. Hwy 71 will be renamed to Chestnut St.

Wednesday, June 18th 2025, 10:22 AM MDT

By Kristi Shields

From 9th St., Chestnut St. turns into S Hwy 71; however now that the portion of road is in the city’s jurisdiction, the name will change.

Kristi Shields

KIMBALL -- The Kimball City Council has approved to extend Chestnut St. to include the six-block portion of road currently known as S. Hwy 71.

The city council initially discussed the name change in April, and city officials have since sent out a letter to businesses that will be affected.

The portion of S. Hwy 71 from 9th St. to I-80 was relinquished from Kimball County to the City of Kimball with the recommendation to change the name.

Mayor John Morrison said in a conversation with the state officials that there are concerns with that portion of the highway being confused as south of Hwy 71 rather than S Hwy 71.

“The state is really concerned that if we send out emergency personnel, they would think it would be south of the interstate,” Morrison said.