On a roll ...

The numbers keep going up on Aurora’s busy Highway 34 corridor.
Not only is the traffic count high on one of Nebraska’s primary east/west roadways, so too is the investment being made by businesses that see opportunity in locating and/or updating facilities there.
Aurora has benefited for decades from Highway 34 travelers passing through our community, as well as north/south traffic rolling up and down Highway 14. The fact that these two roadways intersect here, not far from the Interstate 80 transportation pipeline, has no doubt helped this community grow over time.
Locals have become accustomed to that trend, though there has been a noticeable explosion of business growth and activity along that stretch in the last few years which is well worth documenting. The change is visible, adding up to more than $4 million worth of investment and creating a healthy, impressive business vibe.
Eric Joseph is the latest business owner to take advantage of the Highway 34 growth mode. Joseph will soon be turning a former gas station property, which he called an eyesore, into a new facility to house his growing Midwest Spray Foam & Custom Installation business. As he explained in a business story in this week’s edition, Joseph said he liked the visibility factor on Highway 34, as well as the modern look and busy feel created by recent investments in the neighborhood.
Looking back over the building permit reports issued at City Hall, some may be surprised to see just how much value has been added to the tax rolls in the last two to three years alone.
Heartland Bank’s new facility which opened last year tops the list at $2 million. Across the street, Runza tore down its original structure and built a new one valued at $800,000 in 2020. JoJo’s Gelato built its new $210,000 restaurant in 2019, the same year Chuck’s 2.0 debuted a $210,000 remodel. 
The list goes on if you include Pueblo Viejo’s property improvements after opening in 2017, as well as the new McDonald’s facility built in 2018 for another $450,000. Also anchoring the 14/34 intersection is the thriving Casey’s hub that debuted in 2014. As a tasty bonus to this upward business trend, Aurora’s dining options have improved considerably, giving diners one less reason to go on down the road.
There is every reason to believe that such growth and progress will continue, and in fact construction is under way now on an addition to the Aurora Wash House structure that will soon be home to another new business tenant. In a very real and visible sense, the Highway 34 corridor is on a roll.
-- Kurt Johnson