A string of thefts in parking lots and construction sites around the South Beltway project has left both project managers and the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office frustrated without any easy way to prevent further losses.
There have been at least 10 crimes along the 11-mile construction site since June 2020 — nine of which were thefts — according to a list of dispatch records compiled by Sheriff Terry Wagner.
In the last year, thieves have made off with at least four GPS antennas, 17 catalytic converters and four pieces of heavy construction equipment, a combined loss of $345,000 from the Nebraska Department of Transportation and Hawkins Construction, the private contractor constructing the bypass south of Lincoln.
Most of the thefts lately along the future roadway have involved the stealing of converters from state-owned work trucks or privately owned vehicles parked near the expansive construction zone. All 17 converters stolen from the area came in 2021, nearly half of which have been taken since May 20.Â
“We’re still on schedule and doing what’s needed to be done,†said Curt Mueting, the District 1 construction engineer for the Nebraska Department of Transportation. “But it’s frustrating when you get to your work truck in the morning and you don’t have a catalytic converter.â€
Wagner said the thieves stole a $150,000 trailer near South 38th Street, towing it 13 blocks to a different site where they loaded a pair of bulldozers — worth $50,000 each — onto the stolen trailer.
The incident served as the latest and largest theft from the bypass construction site in a series of crimes that Mueting said has not substantially disrupted work, but has thrown a minor wrench in the $352 million project.Â
The state has gotten off relatively easy, with the largest portion of the losses being suffered by Hawkins Construction, which owned the trailer and both bulldozers stolen from the site last week. Multiple Hawkins representatives could not be reached for comment.
But both Wagner and Mueting noted the challenges that come with trying to prevent further losses.
Lancaster County deputies on June 16 detained a suspect they believe to be involved in a string of converter thefts near the site in early June, but they haven’t officially connected the man to the crimes, instead arresting him on unrelated charges.
And less than two weeks after the man’s arrest, thieves made off with the bulldozers, leaving Wagner’s office with another South Beltway theft to solve.Â
“A part of the problem is it’s such a long project — so it’s about 8 miles or so, 9 miles, from near beginning to end,†Wagner said. “And there’s equipment at different various parts, so even if they had security 24 hours a day … all you have to do is wait for the check — it’s difficult.â€
The Department of Transportation has taken its own precautions, Mueting said. After several converters were lifted from vehicles parked at a department field office one night, officials installed cameras.Â
They didn’t help prevent further crime.
Thieves struck the parking lot two more times. Now, the department parks the trucks at an alternate, fenced-in location in Lincoln, Mueting said, moving the vehicles several miles north each night for what they hope is safekeeping.Â
“Has it disrupted the timeline of the project? I would say no,†he said. “But, obviously, nobody loves it.â€
The flyover bridge that will connect U.S. 77 to the South Beltway stretches to the southwest as construction work continues on Wednesday, May 12, 2021.