Wet Weather Takes Toll On Rural Roads

SPLIT ROCK TOWNSHIP, SD - The wet weather is turning township roads into a muddy mess. Some have even been closed to avoid vehicles getting stuck or sliding off the road. In Split Rock Township, crews are trying to keep up with wet roads to keep rural traffic moving.

Delivering a package has become more like off-roading in Split Rock Township with gravel roads looking more like mud pits.

"You wash your car a lot," Mary Lyng said. 

Lyng lives on 264th Street in the middle of the country and has to drive on roads like this daily.

"They all need gravel because they're a mess," Lyng said.

Township manager Marvin Manifold says crews have been out trying to keep up with the messy, buckling roads but he says the wet weather is hard to beat.

"Water starts coming up through the road, breaks up the underground, the base of the road," Manifold said.

In the coming week, Manifold says they'll be putting gravel down over these township roads to make them better to drive on. But right now gravel pits aren't open, so instead, they've resorted to recycled asphalt for now.

"It’s too soft to bring the road grater out, so we're using the pave loader to smooth them out a little bit," Manifold said.

Rock has also been put on roads to try and fill potholes and allow for more traction, but with high rural traffic and more rain, roads could be in rough shape for a while. But Manifold says they'll do the best they can.

"It’s a challenge this time of year," Manifold said.

As for those who have to dodge the holes and muddy water, it still beats living in the city.

"We don't have near the construction you guys have," Lyng said.

That makes the sloppy drive worth it.

Manifold says they plan to close a portion of 264th Street, also known as Spook Road, in the coming days. He asks drivers to slow down on wet gravel roads and use paved roads when possible.