For Immediate Release
Friday, Aug. 11, 2023

Contact:

Doug Kinniburgh, Local Government Assistance, 605-773-4284
David Huft, Intelligent Transportation Systems Program Manager, 605-773-3358

Rural Access Infrastructure Funding Provides Vital State and Local Partnership for Inventory and Replacement of Small Structures

PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota counties recently received $8.33 million to repair and rebuild culverts and small bridges on township and county secondary roads. The South Dakota State Legislature established the Rural Access Infrastructure Fund (RAIF) in 2021 to help counties and townships inventory their small structures, plan needed improvements, and pay for the cost of repair or replacement. Funds are distributed in proportion to the number of eligible culverts and small bridges in each county. Since its creation, RAIF has distributed $22.66 million. One more distribution of $8.33 million is authorized for July 2024.

“Since the establishment of this program, there has been great collaboration between the state and local governments to expedite the funding made available by the state legislators and Governor Noem,” said Joel Jundt, Secretary of Transportation. “I applaud them for having the foresight in 2021 to allocate funding to enable the upgrade of these structures that are located within the county and township transportation systems. These funds are critical to maintaining the interconnectedness of the state’s transportations network.”  

To be eligible for funding, structures must be located on fully maintained county secondary or township roads. Individual culverts or groups of adjacent culverts must have an outlet opening of at least 16 square feet. Small bridges cannot exceed twenty feet in length. Currently 7,286 eligible culverts and 417 eligible small bridges have been identified. Townships must either opt out of the tax freeze or impose secondary road capital improvement tax levy to be eligible to receive funding.

Funding distributions are made by August 1 each year by the SD Department of Revenue, based on inventory received by the SD Department of Transportation. Local agencies must update their small structure improvement plans by August 31 and submit culvert and small bridge funding applications to their county commission by November 30. County commissions are to award funding by January 15.

The South Dakota Department of Transportation supports counties and townships by providing a geographic information system to contain the small structure inventory and supplying guidance and spreadsheet tools.

About the SDDOT:
The mission of the South Dakota Department of Transportation is to efficiently provide a safe and effective public transportation system.

Read more about the innovative work of the SDDOT at https://dot.sd.gov.

For the latest on road and weather conditions, road closures, construction work zones, commercial vehicle restrictions, and traffic incidents, please visit https://sd511.org or dial 511.

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