Gov. Ricketts visits new DMV in west Omaha

OMAHA - Gov. Pete Ricketts and Nebraska’s Department of Motor Vehicles Director Rhonda Lahm visited the new West Omaha DMV location Monday morning.

The new location is scheduled to open on July 15.

Days before the doors officially open to the public, driver’s tests are already being signed up for.

“Right now, we’re requiring the customer to wear a face covering. Our employees are wearing a face covering, plus a shield, plus gloves, plus we’re putting a seat covering on the person’s car” according to DMV Director Lahm.

The governor’s executive order waving the need to renew your license expires at the end of August unless you’re over the age of 72.

People are jumping at the opportunity to make appointments at the new location.

“I want Nebraskans to spend less time standing in line, waiting on hold, or filling out forms,” Gov. Ricketts said.

That wish and Omaha’s growing population were the driving factors to open a third metro DMV location.

“We anticipate seeing over 125,000 people through this office every year,” Lahm said. “So when you take those numbers and add them up, we’re able to service them much sooner.”

Previous DMV locations had about 25 counters to serve customers, this new location has about 40.

There is room for electronic written testing with cubicles closed off to keep people socially distanced and another seating area for people to wait for skills testing.

There are 6-foot distancing markers on the floor in front of counters and outside.

Governor Ricketts seemed pleased with the new location saying ”It looks great, it looks great, it looks very much like the one we got at metro South. That’s good though because we know that one works.”