Habegger Retires After 43+ Years with NDOT in Tecumseh

Mike Habegger has been working for the Nebraska Department of Transportation in the Tecumseh office for over 43 years. Friday, May 1 will be Habegger's last day. An open house will be held for Mike from 1 to 3 p.m.
Habegger started out as a surveyor. After four years, he started working with construction inspection, which he did for 17 years until becoming a project manager in 2000. When he first started, the office had 22 employees. Today there are approximately 50 employees.
When Habegger started working as a surveyor for the Nebraska Department of Transportation in 1983, he used metal tapes and old instruments. Then technology moved on to laser measuring devices and, now, global positioning satellites.
Habegger recognized three long time project managers: LeRoy Buethe, Clem Steinauer and Charlie Scott who served as a mentors for him. He also said, “I've really had good employees and its been an enjoyable place to work.” Two NDOT employees Habegger worked with the longest were Bill Jasa and Tammie Parrish, who have already retired.
Habegger has worked on highway projects from Lincoln, east to the Missouri River and south as far as the Kansas line. He said he has supervised two major highway projects: the Missouri River Bridge project at Rulo and the byway interchange at Nebraska City which took three years to complete.
Habegger said that almost one year was lost, from March through November, in constructing the Missouri River Bridge project at Rulo due to flooding in 2011.
He also added that the construction of the new Missouri River bridge and the by-way interchange project at Nebraska City were challenging because these projects were completed with on-going traffic on Highway 2 and Highway 75 on a daily basis.
“Since this project was completed in phases, you had to know where the construction crews and mobile traffic lights were at all times,” Habegger said.
Habegger has found it rewarding to be involved in various highway construction methods. He also noted that the Nebraska Department of Transportation had to blow up the old Missouri River bridge at Rulo, which was a rare event.
“I just decided I was getting to the age where I want to take it easy,” said Habegger of his retirement. He has some woodworking projects that will keep him busy. He also wants to do some tinkering on old cars and equipment.
Habegger is also looking forward to spending more time with his family, which includes his wife, Juli, daughters, Haley who is an occupational therapist, and Jenna who works for the Lincoln office of the Nebraska Department of Transportation; and son, Kellen who works in Beatrice. “
There were times when I had to work and missed their activities and I thank them for their support,” Habegger concluded.