South Dakota’s $210M Veteran’s Parkway Nears Completion

Construction on the first phase of the $210 million South Veterans Parkway project continues ahead of schedule. The work is the final stage in connecting I-29 with I-90 and will help meet transportation needs across the corridor.

“The entire 17-mile Veterans Parkway corridor was identified in the early 1990s to reduce congestion on arterial routes going through the middle of Sioux Falls and accommodate future growth of the east side,” said Mike Heiberger, city of Sioux Falls principal engineer. “It also will prepare for the transportation system needs for 2050 that are consistent with other public infrastructure growth investments.”

In 2020, the South Dakota Transportation Commission approved the plans to complete construction of the remaining 8.7 mi. that make up the southern section of Veterans Parkway from Interstate 29 to 57th Street. When connected to the northern segment of Veterans Parkway, the additional roadway will support a regional arterial road network around southeast Sioux Falls.

City of Sioux Falls photo

The section of new road from Western Avenue to Cliff Avenue has been under construction since June of last year and will continue through 2024. The other three segments of the project are still being designed.

Considered a crucial infrastructure investment in Sioux Falls, the project provides a number of benefits, including reducing overall traffic congestion; providing safer routes and crossings for pedestrians and bicyclists; and improving accessibility throughout the Sioux Falls regional transportation network, especially in southern and eastern Sioux Falls.

The first road segment from Western Avenue to Cliff Avenue broke ground in spring 2023. The three additional segments for South Veterans Parkway will be constructed over the following years until the corridor is completed in 2027.

The South Veterans Parkway project is a partnership with the South Dakota Department of Transportation (SDDOT) and the city of Sioux Falls.

“The city of Sioux Falls and SDDOT have a strong relationship working on projects in the Sioux Falls Metropolitan Planning Organization [MPO] area that enhance the Sioux Falls transportation network,” said Heiberger. “Veterans Parkway is just one of many projects that SDDOT and the city of Sioux Falls collaborate on to bring a solid transportation network to Sioux Falls.”

The new roadway will consist of three lanes per direction, a 32-ft. raised median separating the travel lanes, a shared use path along the south side of the Parkway and a grass boulevard separating the path from the roadway.

Heiberger noted this is not a typical project.

“A unique delivery method is being used for the design, right of way and construction inspection. The method is called ‘program management’, which allows one team to work on the entire eight-mile corridor at one time. North Veterans Parkway was delivered in a more traditional project management delivery method, which on average takes an additional two to four years.

“This project required collaboration between multiple organizations, funding sources and transportation networks. It’s also very rewarding to see construction starting on phase one. Obviously, construction is the last step of a process that started over thirty years ago. There’s been a lot of work from numerous individuals across three decades to get to this point.”

John Riley Construction serves as the prime contractor on the project.

“It’s been a great fit for the size and magnitude of construction,” said Heiberger. “With 1.2 million cubic yards of earthwork, which is equivalent to 97,000 dump truck loads of dirt, to go with 104,000 cubic yards of concrete, John Riley Construction has assembled a great team of subcontractors and brought the manpower and equipment to efficiently and effectively complete this large-scale project.”

“It’s very rewarding and also a great responsibility to be paired with SDDOT and city of Sioux Falls on the Veterans Highway project, to show we have the capabilities and extensive experience to be able to complete this project, as previously shown from Highway 100,” said owner John Riley. “There are so many different aspects that go into a job of this size, from bidding the project to the crews out on the job and everyone in between.

John Riley Construction photo

“It’s a team effort to complete jobs of this magnitude, or any job for that matter. Jobs of this size take a huge amount of coordination, not only for us as the prime, but for our subcontractors and everyone else involved. We’re very fortunate that we get to work with such great contractors and be a part of this phase’s impact on the infrastructure in Sioux Falls and the surrounding areas.”

According to company vice president and senior project manager Larry Swann, the project’s substantial completion is set for Nov. 1 ,2024, and will be open to traffic. The major items to be finished are topsoil, concrete paving, asphalt paving and electrical.

Job activities have called for 1.3 million yds. of excavation; 23,000 linear ft. of storm sewer; more than 300 catch basins; 110,000 tons of gravel; more than 104,000 yds. of concrete paving; 172 spans of concrete girders; and 5.8 mi. of curb and gutter.

The job is roughly 75 percent complete. Swann credited senior project superintendent Doug Weber with helping guide the many contributors.

“The subcontractors on this project have worked with John Riley Construction on numerous other jobs, including the last Highway 100 Veterans Parkway tie-in at I-90. The companies we are fortunate to work with are T & R Contracting; Double H Paving; Grangaard Construction; Guardrail Enterprises; KLJ Engineering; Yellow Jacket Irrigation and Landscaping; Dakota Traffic Services; Action Electric; and SiteWorks Inc.,” he said.

Swann said virtually all the heavy machinery on site is Caterpillar. The equipment used on this project includes eight 627 K scrapers; three D6T dozers; a D8T dozer; a challenger/disc; two 14M blades; a 349 backhoe; a 340 backhoe; four 740 artic trucks; a sheepsfoot compactor; an 8,000 gal. Cat water wagon; and two 289 skid steers.

Swann said working on the final effort to connect I-29 with I-90 is a major deal for crews.

“To date, John Riley Construction has worked on and primed two segments of Highway 100 Veterans Parkway. The first one was the I-90 tie-in six years ago. When awarded that job, we were told it was the biggest job Sioux Falls and surrounding areas ever bid. After we were awarded this [contract], we were told this job, phase one, was number two. The bridge concrete girders are the longest ever set in South Dakota.”

He added, “There are three segments left on Veteran’s Parkway that will be bid over the next three years. To be able to complete even one phase gives you a lot of satisfaction when you see it all come together.”

Engineers, contractors and others responsible for this project include HDR – project design and head of oversite; Pat Dressen — project engineer and lead oversite; Steve Hoff — engineer manager; Jame Unruh — engineer design; Paul Snow — engineer land; and Brandon Winter — engineer bridge; Shannon Austin — public relations, city of Sioux Falls; Greg Alberg — engineer lead of state of South Dakota; Brad Tiede — engineer oversite lead of state of South Dakota; Scott Schneider — engineer and lead oversite of Sayre & Associates; Doug Hoye — engineer manager of Sayre & Associates; and Mitch H. — engineer inspector of Sayre & Associates. CEG