Just got back from a five-day trip to Omaha, Minneapolis, and the Upper Midwest. I will post photos and observations from my travels over the next few blog posts. Here’s a taste of what I saw.
‘The worst state highway ever,’ South Dakota 10 between Interstate 29 and Minnesota 28. Not only does the road become a gravel stripeless road, but at one point South Dakota 10 transitions into a pot-hole ridden dirt road…
Minnesota does a much nicer job with its side of highway, providing two-lanes of striped asphalt. Pictured here is the state highway eastbound after its intersection with Roberts County 7, on a showery day.
I can offer other candidates for worst state highway ever. Sections of MA 183 and ME 155 come to mind. Even the unpaved sections of VT 35 and VT 121 are better.
Looks like you just got to see first-hand how SDDOT does road construction on rural highways. They’re usually two-year projects: the first year involves rebuilding the road bed, the next year involves concrete paving. And a glance at the STIP on http://www.sddot.com shows that SD10 will undergo concrete paving this spring/summer at that very location.
If we include also the Canadian provinces, there a couple of Quebec highways who could be good candidates for the worst state highway ever.
Thanks for the insight on how South Dakota handles road construction on rural highways. Had I known this, I would have opted for another plan involving remaining on I-29 south to U.S. 12 east. Surely U.S. 12 would not have been in such a bad state.
Regarding South Dakota 10, as I traveled east, the pavement got worse and worse, eventually becoming a full-fledged dirt road.