Road Report: April 7, 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

South Veterans Parkway: The first phase of the South Veterans Parkway project from Cliff to Sycamore avenues has commenced, with the contractor stripping topsoil and pumping water in preparation for grading.

Weather conditions currently are delaying the start of utility work. Once the weather improves, the contractor will begin installing utilities along Southeastern Avenue and hauling dirt and other materials for the roadbed at the proposed Veterans Parkway intersection, located south of Bison Trail along Southeastern.

A signed detour route will be in place for northbound traffic, utilizing 85th Street, Sycamore Avenue and 69th Street, and for southbound traffic, utilizing 69th, Cliff Avenue and 85th. Access will remain open on Bison Trail, and local traffic will be maintained along Southeastern Avenue.

For information on traffic impacts and project details, visit southveteransparkway.com.

85th & Heritage/Ellis: Work began  Tuesday at the intersection of 85th Street and Heritage Parkway/Ellis Road.

Crews are performing removals in preparation for the construction of the roundabout. Motorists on Heritage/Ellis will be diverted to the temporary asphalt access road east of the intersection, which was constructed last year. 85th Street will remain open to local traffic only.

The roundabout is expected to open to traffic in late June. This is the second year of construction for this joint city of Sioux Falls and city of Tea project aimed at improving 85th between Heritage/Ellis and Sundowner Avenue.

The intersection of 85th and Sundowner was completed last year, and the remainder of the project is scheduled for completion this year.

Cherokee Street: Cherokee Street closed Tuesday between M and K avenues to allow crews to repair the Ellis & Eastern rail crossing for Berry Global. This work is anticipated to be complete in two weeks.

Louise & 85th: The inside northbound lane on Louise Avenue and one eastbound left turn lane on 85th Street closed Thursday at the intersection to allow crews to repair concrete. A few other intermittent lane closures may occur. The work is expected to be completed by early next week.

What’s next

41st Street: Beginning today, the outside westbound lane of 41st Street will be closed between Western and Kiwanis avenues to allow crews to complete sidewalk improvements. One lane of westbound traffic will be maintained in the inside westbound lane. Eastbound traffic will not be impacted at this time. This is the first of eight phases of the project, which includes sidewalk improvements on both sides of 41st from Western to Westport avenues and on Minnesota Avenue from 11th to 18th streets. The entire project is anticipated to be completed by August.

I-229 & Cliff: Today, interchange reconstruction work is scheduled to begin on Interstate 229 at the Cliff Avenue exit. The project includes additional lighting, signals and mainline interstate work. The interchange will be reconstructed as a single-point urban interchange. This project also includes two structure replacements. The southbound I-229 lanes and one structure will be constructed in 2025. The northbound I-229 lanes and the second structure will be constructed in 2026.  Beginning today, northbound traffic on I-229 will be diverted onto the northbound diversion and temporary bridge. During the first full week of April, motorists should plan for nighttime lane closures to allow crews to install traffic control devices, concrete barriers and pavement markings along northbound I-229. The nighttime closures will be in place from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. Beginning April 14, southbound traffic on I-229 will be switched to the northbound lanes. At this time, the southbound on and off-ramps at the exit will be closed for construction. Drivers should use exits at 26th Street and Minnesota Avenue as detour routes to access Cliff Avenue north of I-229. Motorists are reminded to use caution and reduce their speed while workers and equipment are present. The prime contractor on this $48 million project is T&R Contracting Inc. of Sioux Falls. The overall completion date is June 2027.

I-90 & I-29: Today, work will begin on the Interstate 90 eastbound structure over Interstate 29. Traffic control will be put into place to allow for a two-way traffic configuration on westbound I-90 utilizing crossovers. The south loop ramps of the I-90 and I-29 interchange will be closed during this time. This two-way traffic configuration is scheduled to begin April 14, and continue until May 10.  The prime contractor for this $3.1 million project is Journey Group of Sioux Falls. The overall project completion date is Sept. 26.

I-29: Today, work will begin on the Interstate 29 northbound structures over 12th Street and the Ellis & Eastern Railroad tracks. Traffic control will be in place closing the east two lanes. Traffic will be maintained on the two west lanes. This configuration will continue until May 21, when traffic will be switched to the newly constructed east lanes. Crews then will begin work on the adjacent two lanes on the west side.  The prime contractor for this $7.4 million project is General Excavating of Lincoln, Nebraska. The overall project completion date is July.

Bike trail: Beginning today, the bike trail along the north side of the Big Sioux River, northeast of Falls Park, will be closed to allow crews to make improvements to the trail from Cliff to Bahnson avenues. Construction traffic will enter and exit on the east side of Cliff Avenue at Chambers Street. It will also enter and exit Bahnson Avenue north of the Big Sioux River.  The trail will open later this fall.

Veterans & Madison: Beginning today, the northbound right-turn lane on Veterans Parkway at Madison Street will be closed to allow the installation of a sanitary sewer carrier pipe beneath Madison. This work is part of the Pump Station 240 force main project. Weather permitting, this work is expected to be completed within four weeks.

12th Street: Beginning today, the driveway access and sidewalk on the north side of 12th Street for the downtown post office will be closed and pedestrians directed to the south side of 12th. The contractor will be working on site repairs. The work is expected to be completed in approximately two weeks.

I-90/Highway 38 open house: The South Dakota Department of Transportation, in collaboration with the city of Hartford, city of Humboldt, city of Sioux Falls, Minnehaha County, Sioux Falls MPO and the Federal Highway Administration, will hold an open house from 6 to 7:30 tonight at West Central High School in Hartford. The open house is being held to inform and gather feedback from area residents regarding the improvement concepts developed for the Interstate 90/South Dakota Highway 38 (exit 390) interchange. Information also will be available regarding the recommendations from the Highway 38 corridor study.  The open house will be informal, allowing for one-on-one discussions with the study team. A prerecorded presentation will play on a continuous loop for the duration of the open house. For those who cannot attend the open house or who desire additional information on the overall corridor study, the prerecorded presentation and open house displays will be available on the study website at sd38corridorstudy.com. The meeting presentation will be streamed through a link on the study website. The website also allows for online comments to be submitted.