Road Report: April 14, 2025

Construction season is here, so we’re back with our weekly look at what projects are done, where you’ll find traffic impacts and what’s scheduled next.

What’s underway 

Madison Street: The eastbound lanes on Madison Street at Harlem Avenue closed April 8 to allow crews to repair a gas line under the street. This work is expected to be complete in about one week.

41st Street: Work is underway on a sidewalk improvement project along 41st Street between Western and Westport avenues.

The outside westbound lane on 41st currently is closed between Western and Kiwanis avenues. Work will continue moving west along 41st until all work is completed on the north side of the street. Then, work will shift to the south side of the street and make its way back east from Westport to Western avenues.

Work on 41st Street is expected to be complete by the middle of June. After that work is done, there will be additional work completed as part of this project along Minnesota Avenue between 11th and 18th streets. Work on Minnesota Avenue is expected to be complete by the middle of August.

The city is incorporating late-merging signage — better known as a zipper merge — into this project to help reduce congestion caused by the lane closures.

Some benefits of zipper merging include:

• • Reduced congestion. Using both lanes fully helps prevent traffic from backing up unnecessarily in a single lane.
  • Improved fairness. It eliminates the frustration of early mergers watching others “cut in line.”
  • Boosted safety. By keeping traffic flowing at similar speeds, it reduces the risk of sudden stops and rear-end collisions.

The city is encouraging drivers to utilize the zipper merge on 41st Street so all drivers can experience these benefits.

I-229 & Cliff: Work is also underway on the reconstruction of the Cliff Avenue and Interstate 229 interchange. This a joint project between the South Dakota Department of Transportation and the city of Sioux Falls.

Over the past several weeks, Xcel Energy has been installing new power poles so the existing power poles can be moved out of the way of construction.

Grading work recently has begun north of 41st Street and west of Cliff Avenue. This area is being excavated to provide additional floodplain storage volume during flood events.

Crews have spent the past week setting up traffic control on I-229 and shifting northbound traffic onto the temporary bridge installed last fall, and preparing to shift southbound traffic onto the former northbound bridge so demolition of the existing southbound bridge can begin this week. Beginning today, several major traffic changes will begin:

• 41st Street will be closed from Carter Place to Cliff Avenue. This closure is to allow for underground utilities, grading and street reconstruction to occur. 41st Street will be shifted farther north to provide more distance between the new, signalized intersection of 41st and Cliff and the reconstructed interchange. 41st Street will remain closed until August. Drivers should use Minnesota Avenue and 33rd Street as an alternate route.
• Southbound I-229 traffic will be shifted into the northbound lanes.
• The southbound I-229 off-ramp and southbound I-229 on-ramp will be closed as part of the interchange reconstruction. These ramps will remain closed until late 2025. Southbound I-229 drivers should use Exit 5, which is 26th Street, or Exit 3, which is Minnesota Avenue, as alternate routes. The northbound off-ramp and northbound on-ramp will remain open.
• The outside southbound lane of Cliff Avenue will be closed to help facilitate the removal of the existing southbound I-229 bridge.

Cliff Avenue will have overnight closures Monday and Tuesday to allow crews to remove the existing southbound I-229 bridge. These overnight closures are anticipated to be in place from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. each day. Drivers should use Minnesota or Southeastern avenues as detour routes.

Cliff Avenue will remain open until school is out for the summer. Cliff will be fully closed to traffic from the end of the school year until August. The project is expected to be substantially complete in late 2026, and fully complete in early 2027.

What’s next

The following work will begin today:

85th & Louise: The outside northbound lane of Louise Avenue will be closed between 85th and Bitterroot streets to allow crews to perform sidewalk repairs. The outside eastbound left turn lane on 85th and the outside westbound lane of 85th just east of Louise also will be closed as part of this work. This work is expected to be complete in about two days.

Cleveland Avenue: The southbound lane on Cleveland Avenue will be closed just north of Madison Street to allow crews to replace sidewalk and a driveway approach. Southbound traffic will be diverted to the center turn lane. Northbound traffic will not be impacted. This work is expected to be complete in about two weeks.

I-90: Construction work will begin on Interstate 90 at Exit 387 in Hartford. During construction, lane closures will be placed at various times on the eastbound and westbound lanes of I-90. Speed limits will be reduced to 65 mph through the work zone. This project will reconstruct this interchange and part of Western Avenue in Hartford.

Hydrant flushing: Also today, the city of Sioux Falls will start its annual hydrant flushing program. During the flushing process, crews will visit hydrants across the city, starting on the north side and working south, to open hydrants and flush them of water. Hydrant flushing is beneficial for clearing the water mains of sediment, ensuring hydrants are operational and conducting flow testing of the water distribution system. The process typically takes several weeks. Residents who have crews working in their neighborhood are encouraged to check the cold tap water for clarity before doing laundry. If there is discoloration, run the cold water faucet for a few minutes, or until the water clears, before use. Water discoloration caused by the flushing program does not pose a health threat and may be used but could cause staining. Motorists should be aware of and slow down in the presence of field crews and avoid water flowing from hydrants.