By Chabella Guzman
February may seem a long way off from planting season, but growers have been meeting to hear more about what will affect their 2026 crops along the North Platte River Basin. The annual Bean Day hosted by the Nebraska Dry Bean Growers Association was held in early February, with an update on the Goshen/Gering-Ft. Laramie tunnels.
“This winter, they are replacing the portals of Tunnel 2, and that’s all to get ready to receive the digger shield in the fall of 2026,” said Scott Hort, Gering Ft. Laramie General Manager.
The tunnel portals are being constructed by Mountain View Builders of Sheridan, Wyoming. The digger shields are basically boring machines that will convert the 14-foot horseshoe-shaped tunnel into an 18-foot round tunnel. The construction also starts at the bottom and moves up.
“If by some chance you don’t get that tunnel completed in the off-season, and May 1 comes around, and we have to run water. It’s always easier to go from a smaller tunnel to a bigger one than vice versa,” Hort said. “Hopefully, they’ll get it completed in the off-season, and that won’t be an issue.”
The increase in size and shape of the tunnels is for safety standards that were not in place in 1917, when the tunnels were originally built.
The Bean Day didn’t have anyone speak about the amount of irrigation water that will be available in 2026, but it's a question on most agriculturists' minds.
Source : unl.edu