SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO.com) — Governor Kristi Noem joined South Dakota’s Congressional delegation and other state and local leaders this afternoon (Monday afternoon) to celebrate the Veteran’s Parkway Project in Sioux Falls.
Veteran’s Parkway (Highway 100) is one of the largest construction projects in the history of the state’s Department of Transportation.
The first project along the north/south was completed in 2008.
South Dakota Department of Transportation Director of Operations Craig Smith said, “Since then we’ve had five additional projects on Veteran’s Parkway from 57th Street to Interstate-90 which opened to traffic last December. The total investment of the six projects is 121.7 million dollars of city, state, and federal dollars. ”
Governor Kristi Noem said this project was special to her because “when I was in Congress we obviously this project was undergoing, and we advocated and worked on behalf of some federal funding and our Congressional delegation continues to do that as well as it moves to completion and is finished, helping this community and the state continue to grow.”
“We talk a lot about this state being open for business. About being welcoming to families and businesses that want to come here and be successful and grow and thrive, and this type of project is incredibly important to that,” said Noem.
Senator John Thune started his comments with a not-so-good memory.
“I go back a long way with highways. When I was a kid growing up in Murdo, highway 16 ran right through the middle of town. And it wasn’t very safe. They were starting to build Interstate 90 and I remember my dog as we were going down Highway 16 , so busy from the tourists, and that he got run over.”
“Who knows how many lives were saved as a result of the investment in the interstate highway system,” remarked Thune.
Senator Mike Rounds spoke of the importance of infrastructure development in the state.
“This is an outside loop, and it shows development in Sioux Falls. This shows that the Highway 100 project has now become reality. And what we worked on for 20 years is now coming in to shape,” remarked Rounds.
Sioux Falls Director of Public Works Mark Cotter said that planning for this project began in the 1990’s.
“This is the largest transportation investment that the state has funded to date. This will ultimately be a 17-mile corridor. The first eight and a half miles have been built.”
“We just recently secured an agreement with the Governor to complete the southern section of Veteran’s Parkway,” Cotter explained. “So we’re going to have two really intense years of design and then ultimately deliver two miles a year in 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026 to complete that southern section.”
