HASTINGS, Neb. (KSNB) – Federal funding has been secured for a heavily traveled section of I-80 in south-central Nebraska. U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE) announced Wednesday that $21,172,718 in federal funding he helped to secure for the Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT) will go to reconstructing approximately 9 miles of eastbound Interstate 80 between Odessa and Kearney. These Multimodal Project Discretionary Grants from the Department of Transportation (DOT) will also allow for the replacement of a rural bridge over Interstate 80 in the affected area.