How S.D. is about to invest $800M-plus in Sioux Falls-area roads

If you thought the past couple of years have brought some major road projects, get ready for even more.

The South Dakota Department of Transportation is proposing to spend nearly $810 million through 2027 in the Sioux Falls area, with about 60 percent of it happening within city limits.

“It’s a pretty exciting time to be in transportation in Sioux Falls,” said Travis Dressen, area engineer for the DOT. “It’s all one transportation regional network. You need all these parts working together … and work that’s going forward in the Sioux Falls area is really ramping up.”

The projects follow other major work such as the diverging diamond interchange recently completed at West 41st Street and a second one under construction at Benson Road.

About 80 percent of the funding is through the federal government, Dressen said. The state prioritizes projects based on condition, capacity and safety issues, he added.

“When you start getting into the metro area, that’s where you start hitting on capacity, and those needs tend to drive these projects forward.”

From the city’s standpoint, “based on this incredible investment, we have aligned our proposed capital program investments, specifically related to the construction of the arterial street network, to keep the state’s projects moving forward,” Mayor Paul TenHaken said in his recent budget address.

Here’s a look at some of the major projects underway or preparing to get started.

Veterans Parkway

The first 2 miles of the 8.6-mile $250 million South Veterans Parkway corridor will be done next year and connect from Cliff to Western avenues. It’s about 70 percent done and will be followed next with Cliff to Sycamore avenues and with Interstate 29 to Louise Avenue.

The plan is to have the whole thing complete by the end of 2027.

A piece of this project is the $25 million intersection reconstruction project at Arrowhead Parkway and Veterans Parkway.

When completed by the end of 2026, “this project will provide traffic congestion relief and safety enhancements to the 30,000 vehicles per day who use the intersection,” TenHaken said.

The city is still identifying funding for that project.

Nearby, the state also is planning a two-year project on Highway 42 near Willow Run Golf Course and the Six Mile Road intersection. Estimated at $47.3 million, it’s scheduled for 2025 and 2026 and will continue the look, feel and scale of Highway 42 as it has been developed east of Veterans Parkway.

I-29 and 85th Street

A long-awaited new interchange for Interstate 29 at 85th Street is about to become reality.

“The last new interchange built in Sioux Falls was the Louise Avenue interchange back on I-229 during the 1990s,” Dressen said. “It’s been quite awhile. It’s not often we put brand-new interchanges on the interstate system.”

The funding for this one involves five entities, including private landowners. Just recently, all funding was approved, and design is being finalized.

“When complete in 2026, this regional investment will create greater connection for Tea, Sioux Falls and rural areas in Lincoln County,” TenHaken said.

The plan is to construct the $56 million project in 2025 and 2026 and have it substantially done by the end of 2026.

I-229 and Cliff Avenue

A two-year $62 million reconstruction of Interstate 229 and Cliff Avenue will start in 2025.

“Given the increase in usage of this intersection at more than 30,000 vehicles per day, its current configuration is no longer serving its purpose from when it was first built in the late 1950s,” TenHaken said. “This important investment will not only move traffic more effectively but also create a safer design for pedestrians.”

Initial work is being done now to prepare some traffic control and set a temporary bridge “similar to what we did at I-229 and 29 a few years ago, so we can maintain two lanes of traffic during construction and keep Cliff Avenue open during construction,” Dressen said.

This also is why there’s a significant amount of dirt being moved around the Louise Avenue interchange.

Ultimately, East 41st Street in front of Lincoln High School will be realigned as part of the project and will be a signalized intersection with more lanes.

“The operations are really poor at the ramp terminal,” Dressen said. “The turn lanes will be longer, and traffic will definitely flow a lot better than what it is today.”

I-229 and Minnesota Avenue

Similar to the Cliff Avenue project, the Minnesota Avenue interchange reconstruction will be a two-year project, starting in 2027.

“During the second year of the Cliff Avenue project, we’ll pick up that temporary bridge and move it to Minnesota Avenue and do some grading work just to prepare for the main project in 2027 and 2028,” Dressen said.

The estimated $64.5 million project will result in three lanes in each direction plus an auxiliary lane, and the city street projects nearby will address capacity on Minnesota Avenue.

“In the southbound direction in the p.m. … it’s absolutely brutal,” Dressen said, adding there are “a lot of safety concerns when it gets that congested.”

Sioux Falls viaduct

The state of South Dakota will fund an eventual reconstruction of the viaduct on the east end of downtown Sioux Falls, but right now it’s not scheduled until 2032-33. There’s a study underway now to look at how traffic could operate.

“It kind of takes that long to get some of these projects to come together, just working through environmental impacts and right-of-way impacts,” Dressen said. “It’s not unusual.”