SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Connecting Interstate 90 and Interstate 29 through Veterans Parkway in Sioux Falls is getting one step closer.
Construction for the remaining 8.7 miles of the project is scheduled to start in 2023 and the Supplemental Environmental Assessment has just been released to the public. You can view the 109-page document below.
The EA contains information about purpose, need for the project, alternative screening, environmental consequences, noise and public involvement.
Steve Hoff, with HDR Engineering, said in a pre-recorded presentation North Veterans Parkway was mostly completed by February 2021. Hoff did say North Veterans Parkway from the intersection with Arrowhead Parkway north to Madison Street is expected to be finalized in 2024 and 2025.
The 8.7 miles for the southern part goes from I-29 to just north of 57th Street and Highway 11 where Veterans Parkway currently ends.
The first segment of construction will be from Western Avenue to Cliff Avenue in southern Sioux Falls.
A noise analysis was completed with part of the Supplement EA and the map below shows the noise contours.
The yellow contour shows the 56-decibel area which Hoff described where “serenity and quiet are of extraordinary significance.”
In June 2021, South Dakota DOT officials and city of Sioux Falls officials held 27 landowner meetings with landowners that would be affected by the design and construction between Western and Cliff Avenues. People living in residential areas adjacent to the project between 85th Street and Cliff Avenue raised concerns of traffic noise and visual changes in the area.
The Supplement EA says those concerns were added to the design and include: narrowing the 32-foot-wide elevated median, installing a concrete barrier median that is tall enough to block traffic headlights, and installing a vegetative buffer between the road surface and residences. Cable guardrails will also be installed between 85th Street and Cliff Avenue on the north side to address safety concerns.
The South Veterans Parkway project team will host an open house 5-7 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 1 at the Sioux Falls Convention Center. There’s also a pre-recorded presentation on the project’s website.
Public comment on the Supplemental EA is open until Friday, Dec. 16 and can be made online, through email, mail, phone calls or in person at the public open house.
You can view videos and find more information on the project’s website.
