As the cost of gas and building materials are on the rise, construction projects in Kearney, Grand Island and in Hastings have gone up, which could impact taxpayers and their wallets.

From road maintenance to work on buildings, cities are paying more for construction.

In Hastings, bids from a year ago are now more expensive.

“We had a project that was bid in late 2021 and the increase of that was about 30-40 percent based on what that would’ve cost in 2020," said LeAnne Doose, public information officer for the City of Hastings.

Doose said, along with cost comes the issue of how long the projects will take.

“A project that was slated to be done in a years time might be spread out a little longer in order to manage those costs,” said Doose

In Kearney, they’re deciding what projects are worth doing to stay in the budget.

“We may be eliminating another project that we’re doing within the city or postponing that to be able to push that project forward,” said Eric Hellriegel, assistant city manager.

He said they also have to look at what materials are available and affordable to use.

“There’s been a steady increase in supply costs so that trend looks to continue, there’s nothing that’s said its going to get any better,” said Hellriegel.

In Grand Island, the costs of projects remain the close to the same price as when they were bid on a year ago but the costs of gas could make those numbers go up.

“Everything that we’re using is either hauled by a diesel or installed by those same type of vehicles,” said Keith Kurz, interim public works director.

Though each city has different projects and priorities, they all said they’re working to keep costs low for their residents.