Dodge Street is the main east–west street in Omaha, Nebraska. Numbered as U.S. Route 6 (US 6) for most of its length, the street starts in Downtown Omaha and connects to West Dodge Road just west of 78th Street. From there, it continues westward through the remainder of Douglas County.
Dodge Street serves as the dividing point between North and South street addresses in Omaha. The street features reversible lanes from 30th Street to 69th Street to accommodate commuter traffic in and out of downtown. From the late 1950s through the late 1980s Dodge Street from 60th through 80th Streets was the main strip for cruising in Omaha. The City of Omaha ended this practice in the early 1990s, when it enacted a law prohibiting U-turns from 8pm to midnight.[citation needed]
At approximately 45th Street, the Saddle Creek Underpass takes Saddle Creek Road under Dodge Street. It is included on the Bridges in Nebraska Multiple Property Submission. Dundee is a historic neighborhood in Midtown Omaha centered near 50th and Dodge Streets. Originally a separate city, Dundee was annexed by Omaha in 1915. The University of Nebraska Omaha and the former Crossroads Mall are located near the intersection of 72nd Street and Dodge.
West Dodge Road
West Dodge Road is one of the main east & west streets in West Omaha. Beginning immediately west of 78th Street, the main six-lane road curves northwest, aligning itself with Cass Street. At this point, Dodge Street itself continues up the hill (between Methodist Hospital and Children's Hospital) and terminates at 84th Street.
Omaha's Capitol Hill was originally located at the intersection of 20th and Dodge, at the building where the Nebraska Territory legislature convened. The steep grade of Dodge Street was reduced from 12% to 7% in the 1920s, dramatically altering the face of the grounds surrounding Omaha Central High School.[5] The original Boys Town was opened on West Dodge Road in 1921, and the Joslyn Art Museum opened at 26th and Dodge in 1931. Omaha's notable Saddle Creek Underpass was built to facilitate traffic along Dodge Street by the Works Progress Administration in 1934. The Memorial Park Pedestrian Bridge was completed in 1968.[6]
^ In 2016, in reaction to Augustus C. Dodge’s pro-slavery views, Dodge Street was renamed for Grenville Dodge and his brother N. P. Dodge, by the City of Omaha, Douglas County, and the State of Nebraska. [source Omaha World Herald, April 2016.] "Street Names 4"Archived October 21, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, Douglas County Historical Society. Retrieved 3/29/08.
^(1894) Paving and Municipal Engineering. Version 7. Municipal Engineering Company. p. 292.
^League of American Wheelmen. (1917) Good Roads. 4(52). S. Elliott Publishers. p. 22.