BROOKINGS – The biggest construction project in Brookings this summer is the one that’s been happening for weeks now – the Interstate 29 bridge and several blocks of Sixth Street to the east and west – and rain in the past week has messed with the schedule.
Sixth Street, also known as U.S. Highway 14, is under the jurisdiction of the South Dakota Department of Transportation, and John Rittershaus, project engineer with the DOT, is in charge of the construction.
Crews have been busy: the westbound (north) bridge doesn’t exist anymore, while traffic is using the eastbound (south) bridge, Rittershaus said.
As of Wednesday, everything was on schedule, he said, but crews were unable to work during an all-day rainfall that “really, really soaked things.”
The next big step is to close the intersection with 22nd Avenue, but that has been postponed more than a week.
“We were looking at (Monday) as kind of a target closure on (that intersection),” Rittershaus said. Now the tentative date for closing 22nd Avenue is Tuesday, May 30.
That might change again because the schedule is dependant on the weather “and obviously we have weather right now,” Rittershaus said.
“There are a lot of things that need to happen before that intersection can be closed,” Rittershaus said.
One of the things is paving Sunrise Ridge Road, which was under water last week.
Sunrise Ridge Road is important because it will become the main part of the detour while the 22nd Avenue intersection is closed through early August, Rittershaus said.
Starting on the north, 22nd Avenue connects to Ninth Street behind Wal-Mart. Ninth Street will run to 25th Avenue, which will curve into Sunrise Ridge Road. That’s where traffic will cross over Sixth Street. On the south side, Sunrise Ridge Road will connect with Minnesota Drive and run west until it curves north to meet State Street, which connects with 20th Avenue, which will turn north into Sixth Street.
There are other complications with closing the 22nd Avenue intersection.
“Once they close that down, they have a time limitation of 75 calendar days ... to completely get it done,” Rittershaus said.
Crews will have to complete a lot of underground work, including widening the street, mechanics for new traffic signals, and storm sewer.
“There’s an August date, I believe Aug. 11, that it has to be re-opened by, regardless of the 75 calendar days, so it’s re-opened prior to SDSU coming back to school here,” Rittershaus said.
“As soon as 22nd gets completed, they should have all the pavement done for it on that north side (of Sixth Street) for the westbound lanes. The bridge itself should be completed on that side. Then we’ll switch over to Phase 2, which is traffic will be running on the north side (of the bridge), and we will complete the work on the eastbound lane side,” Rittershaus said.
He expects most of the project to be completed by November, with some service roads and median work to be completed in the spring.
He asked that people drive safely in the construction zones.
“They need to abide by the speed limits, watch for the construction traffic. They need to pay attention to their driving and watch the road. There’s quite a bit of activity going on out there when the weather is conducive. Be patient and allow yourself a little extra time,” Rittershaus said.
For more information, visit sddot.com and click on Construction Projects. “U.S. 14 (Sixth Street) Brookings” is listed on the left side. The newsletters listed near the end are updated every two weeks.
Contact Jodelle Greiner at jgreiner@brookingsregister.com.
