By james art 
SIOUX FALLS – Two major road projects in the Sioux Falls area will open to traffic in the next few weeks, while another is scheduled to complete its first phase in December.
The weather has been good for work lately, but any major storms could affect work on the Brandon exit project on Interstate 90, which isn’t scheduled to reopen to four-lane traffic until December.
Meanwhile, the two-year Interstate 90 reconstruction project for about 11 miles from Hartford to near Humboldt will reopen to four lanes starting next weekend, according to local highway engineer Harry Johnston of the South Dakota Department of Transportation.
The $36.3 million project involved replacing the entire road surface in both directions with major bridge work. Johnston said although the interstate will be open to four lanes this week, there may be some lane closures while some final smaller items are completed.
The project will give drivers a much smoother road surface with increased safety at intersections.
Also slated to open to traffic this month, possibly in mid-November but certainly by the end of November, is the first section of South Veterans Parkway, a nine-mile project that will provide a regional thoroughfare around southeast Sioux Falls.
It is a partnership between the state and the city of Sioux Falls.
That first phase, which opens this month, is from Western Avenue to Cliff Avenue, a project that began last year with major dirt work.
The six-lane concrete road surface was poured this year and is complete, but minor work remains on the signs, pavement markings and median between Minnesota Avenue and Cliff Avenue.
Traffic lights that will be at the park’s intersection with Western, Minnesota and Cliff avenues are in place and ready to go.
For the past several weeks, crews have been working on landscaping, lighting and a stained concrete median along the stretch of road that will have a 50 mph speed limit but will improve traffic flow in that area of town. A mixed-use path for cyclists and pedestrians has also been built along the lane.
There was some thought about marking the roadway for just two lanes in each direction, but the city and state decided to open all three lanes in each direction with turn lanes also in place.
The city will take care of roadway maintenance with snow removal and other activities.
Over the next few years, the remaining three sections of the $210 million park will break ground.
Johnston said the segment of the park from Cliff Avenue to Sycamore Avenue at the east end of the project is expected to likely go out to bid in mid-January.
It’s also possible that, if right-of-way can be obtained, the stretch from Interstate 29 in Tea to Western Avenue could also be proposed next year, with work starting in the spring.
The final phase will be from Sycamore Avenue to where it will connect with the current northern portion of Veterans Parkway.
City Chief Engineer Brad Ludens said a portion of the north side of the park will also be under construction next year, as the intersection with Arrowhead Parkway, a troubled and busy area near major business and residential buildings, will be built to provide a safer and easier to navigate roadway.
This will certainly cause some traffic issues while it is under construction, as was evident when the intersection was closed recently to install a turn lane just east of the park on Hein Avenue, where a major accident occurred and a turn lane was installed. turning.
The road in this area is only two lanes, while a four-lane section of Arrowhead Parkway was completed farther east to Willow Run Golf Course last year.
As for the Brandon Interstate 90 exit project, Johnston said half of the new bridge over Interstate 90 at Interstate 11 opened last week, with traffic removed from the old bridge
The old bridge will be removed, and the other half of the bridge, which is at a higher level, will be built next year.
The interchange will be a different diamond configuration similar to the recent design at Interstate 29 and 41st Street in southwest Sioux Falls and Benson Road and Interstate 229.
Also, as part of the $41.3 million I-90 project, two aging railroad bridges are being replaced as the westbound lanes remain closed.
The girders for the bridge in those westbound lanes were placed last week, and the bridge deck is expected to be completed by Thanksgiving.
Johnston said once the new bridge structure over the railroad tracks is complete, weather permitting, they hope to open I-90 to four lanes of traffic for the four-mile stretch for winter driving.
The interstate’s concrete road surface and exit and entrance ramps in the area are now being replaced and ready for the westbound lanes.
In the spring, the traffic in this section will again be two-lane, as the reconstruction of the rail bridge in the eastbound lanes and the road surface is pending.
Johnston said that while it is more expensive to build the bridge over the interstate in two phases, it allows traffic to remain open on State Highway 11, which connects Brandon, Corson and Garretson to the interstate.
The project also includes work to I-90 in Brandon, where four lanes of the city street, or Highway 11, are reconstructed with some side roads realigned to provide improved and safer access in that area to businesses and residential areas.
Meanwhile, the two-year project involving Interstate 229 and Benson Road in northeast Sioux Falls is open to traffic.
It is also a different diamond configuration of the intersection to handle the increasing amount of traffic in this area of the city.
Some minor work remains with some lane closures, but the reconstructed concrete Benson Road eastbound and westbound for several blocks is complete, as is the widened bridge over the interstate.
All lanes are expected to be open to traffic in the next few weeks, providing improved traffic in the area with easier access on and off I-229 with additional lanes.
