The official grand opening of the bypass is momentous, though that word does not always imply something positive.

On the surface, the four lane around Kimball takes traffic—and therefore dollars—away from local business at a critical point in the town’s economic timeline. Without cars, trucks and recreational vehicles from the north and south, Chestnut Street will seem emptier than usual. The number of cars and trucks pulling into the two corner gas stations will slip by a margin no one has yet to pin down. Disaster looms.

But there’s another possibility to consider.

Remember that America’s interstate highway system, built largely between the 1950s and 1970s, diverted traffic from old highways downtowns to fast new four and eight lanes. The new roads forever altered the business landscape in many communities. As a result, people feared for the survival of their home areas. Yet some towns now thrive along intestate routes.

Change can destroy. It can also open opportunities. So the new bypass can become a gateway to Kimball—with proper signage, cleanup, zoning and support.

We are not saying the bypass will automatically shower benefits on Kimball. Indeed, it could eventually prove harmful. More likely, it will change the locus of business activity in town.

But it can also be a useful tool in Kimball’s economic development kit. The Heartland Expressway puts the community at a crossroads between routes to Canada and Mexico, the east and west coast. The new road is, after all, part of a planned international trade corridor and part of the “ports to plains” project.

Of course, the old “bypass,” otherwise known as I-80, has yet to prove its worth to Kimball.

Yes, there are challenges. But there is potential—if Kimball’s resources are employed wisely and the economic fates align in the town’s favor.