I-90, bypass, other road work to begin soon

• HIghway 37 bypass

The state Highway 37 bypass in Mitchell, pictured here Monday, is one of the highway sections that was discussed at a public information meeting about pavement projects Monday evening at Mitchell City Hall. (Chris Huber/Republic)

Talk about it

Work will start next week on one of two local highway projects scheduled for this summer by state officials.

The dual tasks were detailed by the South Dakota Department of Transportation during a meeting Monday night.

The DOT plans are:

• A concrete paving project on Interstate 90 from Mount Vernon east to just before the James River bridges.

• A pavement rehabilitation project on Burr Street, Havens Avenue, the South Dakota Highway 37 bypass, and north Highway 37 to Airport Road. This project was “long overdue,” said Tammy Williams, DOT’s Mitchell Area engineer.

Williams conducted the meeting in Mitchell’s City Hall Council Chambers, noting that a discussion on both projects was held less than a year ago and now work is ready to begin.

The I-90 pavement project was awarded to Knife River Midwest, of Sioux City, Iowa, which won the bid for the three-year, $29.1 million job. It will include 14.3 miles of the highway.

Work will be done on I-90’s westbound lanes this summer, with the eastbound lanes completed next year.

This year’s project is scheduled to be completed by Nov. 2, with the 2013 project scheduled to be concluded Nov. 1, 2013.

The durable pavement markings will be completed in the spring of 2014, Williams said, with the overall completion for June 27, 2014.

Three sets of bridges will be included in the project. All will receive “some rehabilitation work,” Williams said. Sioux Falls Construction will do the work on the railroad bridges, both bridges over Exit 332 and the Rowley Street westbound bridge.

The paving is slated to begin around July 15 and will be completed by the end of August.

“We’re excited because this is the last part of the highway in our area … when we’re done, everything will have a new surface,” Williams said.

It will be designed to endure for 40 to 50 years, if timely repairs are done. The sections that are being paved were built in the mid-1960s, she said, with some repairs done over the years.

The loop pavement project, which was bid out for $4.7 million to Interstate Improvement, of Faribault, Minn., will focus on Havens, with new lights, traffic signals and some curb and gutter work, and with new sidewalk ramps installed to meet Americans with Disabilities Act standards.

Work will commence next week on Burr Street, with that segment scheduled to be done by June 15.

“We wanted that done first,” Williams said. “They’re going to be in and out of there.”

The Havens Street work will begin in mid-April to mid-May, with the middle three lanes the initial focus. When that is done, traffic will be routed to the middle while the two outside lanes are paved.

The work on the bypass will also start at that time.

The entire project is scheduled to be done Oct. 26. The project is intended to extend the life of the pavement on the streets for 10 to 12 years.

The meeting, which drew about 25 people, was held to inform the public and businesses on the work, approximate time-frames of work and highlight access to the city of Mitchell, businesses and the Corn Palace, Williams said. DOT wants to continue to hear from people during the process, she said.

“If someone knows of a problem, we want to tackle them head-on and get them corrected,” Williams said.

State Sen. Mike Vehle, who heads the Senate Transportation Committee, attended the meeting, as did Davison County Commission Chairman John Claggett, county Highway Superintendent Rusty Weinberg, Mayor Lou Sebert and representatives of the Mitchell Area Chamber of Commerce and several local businesses.

Regular updates will be sent to anyone who wants one, and the chamber will help provide them to businesses.

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