DOT Projects in Yankton Area to Wrap up for Winter

(Yankton) The South Dakota Department of Transportation’s Yankton Area Office is preparing to wrap up work on four major projects in the area in preparation for winter. Area Engineer Ron Peterson says he’s pleased with the work done this year, but there is still more work ahead when the construction season resumes next spring.

The Broadway Reconstruction project will widen all four lanes of US 81 through Yankton and add left turn lanes, curbs and gutters, storm sewers, roadway lighting and traffic signals. Phases 1 and 2 of the project from the Missouri River Bridge to Marne Creek will be completed by mid November. Crews are also installing historic lighting from 2^nd Street to 8^th Street. All four lanes on Broadway will be restored prior to winter. Next spring crews will complete the last two phases of the project from Marne Creek to 23^rd Street. Terin Corp. of Sioux Falls is the prime contractor on the $8 million project. In conjunction with the state’s work, the City of Yankton is installing a $2 million water main improvement.

Construction crews began work on SD Highway 19 north of Vermillion in late May. The project involves reconstructing the highway from the business loop in Vermillion to 10 miles north of town. In addition, a new box culvert was installed near Spirit Mound and work continues to upgrade the deck and approaches on the Vermillion River bridge one mile north of the bypass. The section from the business loop to the bypass north of town is being surfaced with 3 lanes of concrete pavement, new storm sewer and roadway lights. Currently, an asphalt surface is being added to the entire project, and traffic that had been detoured around the project to Interstate-29 should be able to return by mid November. Work resumes next spring with the addition of a final layer of asphalt with extended shoulders which will double as a biking/hiking trail from Vermillion to Spirit Mound for the upcoming Lewis and Clark Bicentennial. Loiseau Construction of Flandreau is the prime contractor for this $6.5 million project.

A separate $2 million project to replace two of the Vermillion River bridges south of Highway 46 is also underway and should be continuing through the winter. Traffic will be maintained on SD 19 beside these bridges.

Next month a third project is scheduled to be awarded for SD 19. This project will reconstruct the 10 miles of Highway 19 between Highway 46 and the segment where this season’s work ended. Work will include replacement of the last four bridges over the Vermillion River. The project is scheduled to start next spring and will use the same detour to I-29 that was used this year.

Work on the new port of entry facility on I-29 north of Jefferson continues with an anticipated opening date of January 1, depending on weather conditions. The $6 million project includes a weigh-in-motion system, state-of-the-art scale, inspection buildings, a salt/sand storage building for DOT maintenance and a hazardous material containment site. In addition, crews are building eight miles of concrete ramps, loops and parking for the complex. The main facility is adjacent to the northbound lanes with an asphalt ramp system going in adjacent to the southbound lanes for a portable scale site. Traffic will continue to be maintained on the interstate with lane closures where necessary. Dakota Contracting of Sioux Falls is the prime contractor for this project.

Crews have finished construction work on Highway 50 between Gayville and Vermillion. Over the summer they improved the eastbound lanes of the highway by repairing bad sections of the old concrete pavement and adding three layers of asphalt to the driving lanes and shoulders. An asphalt turn-out has also been constructed east of Meckling beside the eastbound lane for a portable scale site to be used by the Highway Patrol to monitor truck weights. Brower Construction of Sioux City worked on the $2 million project.

For more information on any of these four projects, contact Ron Peterson at the Yankton Area Office, 605-668-2929 extension 13.

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