One Bennington resident told KMTV this spring that she drives through 156th and State at least four times a day. Her take on the intersection was "We definitely need something more than street signs out here, especially with how fast it's growing."
Since she said that, the corner has picked up more reasons to stop. A dessert counter, a sandwich shop and an evening clinic all keep hours into the night. So the corner draws trips after work and after dinner, during the same evening commute when, according to that KMTV report, traffic at the four-way stop already backs up. The signal that would ease it isn't scheduled to start construction until after Memorial Day 2027.
What Filled In on Whiting Circle
The small retail center on Whiting Circle, at the southwest corner of 156th and State, added three national brands this summer. Grow Omaha reported in August that Wetzel's Pretzels, Cold Stone Creamery and Planet Smoothie had opened there, next to the Papa Johns and Jimmy John's already in the center.
The three newcomers share a single storefront. Cold Stone's store page for its Bennington shop, listed at Suite 120 on Whiting Circle, names Planet Smoothie and Wetzel's Pretzels as co-brands at the same location. That means one counter serves ice cream, pretzels and smoothies, so a car with three different cravings only has to make one stop.
Here's what's on the corner today:
- Cold Stone Creamery, Wetzel's Pretzels and Planet Smoothie, sharing one storefront on Whiting Circle
- Jimmy John's, at 15601 Whiting Circle, Suite 140
- Papa Johns, in the same center
- Nebraska Medicine Bennington Health Center, at 15675 Hanover Falls Drive
The clinic made the biggest change to what the corner is used for. It opened in March 2026 for primary care, and by August Grow Omaha reported that it had added immediate, same-day care, including weekday after-hours visits.
A Corner That Stays Open Past Dinner
Between them, these businesses give 156th and State reasons to stop well after dark on a weeknight.
| Stop | Weekday hours | Weekend hours |
|---|---|---|
| Nebraska Medicine primary care | 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. | Closed |
| Nebraska Medicine same-day scheduled appointments | 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. | Closed |
| Nebraska Medicine evening immediate care | 5 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. | Closed |
| Jimmy John's | 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. | 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. |
| Cold Stone Creamery | 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Mon. to Thu. | 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Fri. and Sat., 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sun. |
The clinic's schedule shifts from the afternoon to the evening. From 1 to 5 p.m. on weekdays, Nebraska Medicine offers same-day scheduled appointments. From 5 to 8:45 p.m., it runs immediate care, which it describes as care for a sick or injured family member when it can't wait for a scheduled office visit. Nebraska Medicine says some locations offer same-day afternoon appointments and lists 402.559.7800 as the number to check availability and book.
A sick kid at 6 p.m. used to mean a drive into Omaha. Now the clinic, dinner from Jimmy John's and a stop at Cold Stone on the way home are all on one corner. On a Friday, the ice cream counter stays open until 11.
The Same Hours the Stop Sign Backs Up
Every one of those evening trips goes through the same intersection. KMTV reported in May that 156th and State runs as a four-way stop, and another resident told the station that traffic backs up especially during the morning and evening commutes.
The immediate care window opens at 5 p.m. and Cold Stone stays open until 10 or 11, so the corner's busiest new hours start right in the evening rush. Each errand adds a turn into or out of Whiting Circle at an intersection that still runs on stop signs.
The fix is planned, but it waits on a pipe. Douglas County will add a traffic signal and turn lanes in each direction at 156th and State. County Engineer Todd Pfitzer told KMTV the work was pushed back from its original start because a Metropolitan Utilities District water main at the intersection is extremely important to the region, and the delay gives MUD time to move it first.
The schedule, as the county laid it out:
- The project was first scheduled to start in 2025.
- Construction is now set to begin after Memorial Day 2027.
- A partial opening is scheduled for mid-August 2027.
- As the area keeps growing, the county says it may later add a lane in each direction on both 156th and State.
That leaves this winter, all of spring and the start of summer 2027 with the corner's new evening traffic running through the stop signs, followed by a construction season before the signal works fully. The resident who described the commute backups told KMTV, "I feel like us in Bennington are always under construction. We're kind of used to having to take a bunch of different ways and detours."
Holiday Weeks Change the Evening Plan
The evening routine has gaps over the holidays. Nebraska Medicine says the Bennington immediate care clinic is closed on weekends and holidays. The primary care side lists its own holiday hours.
| Date | Bennington primary care hours |
|---|---|
| Thanksgiving, Thursday, Nov. 26 | Closed |
| Friday, Nov. 27 | 8 a.m. to noon |
| Christmas Eve, Thursday, Dec. 24 | 8 a.m. to noon |
| Christmas Day, Friday, Dec. 25 | Closed |
| New Year's Eve, Thursday, Dec. 31 | 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. |
| New Year's Day, Friday, Jan. 1 | Closed |
Thanksgiving week and the two weeks around Christmas and New Year's each cut out at least one weekday evening of immediate care. Before the long weekend, check those hours along with your grocery list.
The Monday after Thanksgiving, the Bennington Public Library is hosting an all-ages Polar Express Watch Party with a make-your-own hot cocoa bar on November 30, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. That's another evening plan in town on a night the corner is open late.
What the Mayor Is Still Recruiting
The pretzel counter and the evening clinic are early pieces of a bigger push. In a July interview with the Douglas County Post-Gazette, Bennington Mayor Clint Adams said the request he hears most from residents is for more shopping and dining, especially a grocery store closer to home.
He named the Rainwood Square development as one possible grocery location and said the developer has left space open for one. "They've left room open for a grocery store there, but it's still very early on," Adams told the Post-Gazette. "Nothing is set in stone at this point. But that's the hope."
The Post-Gazette listed several other commercial sites around town:
- The Highway 36 and 156th Street frontage, along a main growth corridor between Bennington and northwest Omaha
- A retail building in historic downtown at 15416 S. 2nd St.
- The Morgan Ridge Corridor at 156th Street and Bennington Boulevard, with commercial lots surrounded by new homes
- The Hill, a planned mixed-use development near 168th and State with 1- to 3-acre commercial pad sites and a McDonald's already open
Adams also explained why the city is working to bring in businesses. "This type of growth is a way for us to ultimately spread out the tax burden among everybody, especially those that have been here a while and have seen their property taxes and assessed values and all that continually creep up and up and up," he told the paper. He called the 156th and State improvements an important step in handling the growth. Widening Bennington Road on both its east and west sides is also on the city's road plans, but further out because of the cost.
If you're watching which corners around Bennington fill in next, from The Hill to the Morgan Ridge lots, I'm happy to talk through how new commercial sites and road projects can change daily life on a particular street or lot. Reach out to Melissa Ruff, and we'll look at the map together.
