The Golden Link

The link in the title is a real object: a brass connector set into the pavement near Sidney to close the last gap, staged in deliberate echo of the golden spike of 1869. The plaque dates the dedication to October 19, 1974; one state account puts the connector in on October 20. The plaque also starts the work near Kimball on March 8, 1955, while the state's highway history dates Interstate planning from 1957 and names a 6.5-mile stretch near Gretna as the first section finished that year. The 455.3 miles cost $435 million.

What the plaque says

The Golden Link The Golden Link embedded in Interstate 80 just north of here commemorates completion of the final portion of Nebraska Interstate Highway 80 between the Missouri River and the Wyoming border. This 455.3 mile long ribbon of steel and concrete is more than a smooth, wide roadway. It is a vital link between eastern and western Nebraska; a link that binds our state, culturally and economically, closer together. The Golden Link also commemorates Nebraska's accomplishment of being the first state in the nation to complete its mainline Interstate system. Nebraska's Interstate highway system is the most significant and the largest single public works project ever undertaken in this state. Beginning 19 years ago, on March 8, 1955, with a small portion near Kimball, year by year, and mile by mile, it progressed steadily across the state. In developing fine roadside rest areas and a chain of lakes, our state has demonstrated that highways and the environment can be compatible. This final link in Nebraska's Interstate Highway 80 was formally completed and dedicated on October 19, 1974. Department of Roads Nebraska State Historical Society

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Fort Sidney — 6.2 mi
  Three surviving buildings of the post that guarded the Union Pacific at Sidney from 1867 to 1894, where a young army surgeon named Walter Reed found a ward full of ugly cases.

More markers nearby

• Geology — steps away
• Sidney-Black Hills Trail — 4.7 mi
• Fort Sidney — 6.3 mi
• Nebraska's Earliest Documented Burial — 6.6 mi