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[X99]

The planned pedestrian overpass over Alaskan Way in Seattle reminded me of this plan that apparently just came back up in Rapid City: a planned pedestrian overpass over Omaha Street, lining up with 6th Street on the south side and a large walkway to the Civic Center on the north side. Currently, it's a split intersection: traffic from 6th can only turn onto Omaha eastbound, and Omaha eastbound can turn onto 6th, with the westbound lanes separated by a decorative median. There is currently a crosswalk there, controlled by a full red-yellow-green stoplight on both sides. (Why does a crosswalk need a full signal again?)



This is the current plan, which includes lowering Omaha Street below grade to provide better access on the walkway while maintaining a 16 foot clearance. In my opinion, this should be reversed, with Omaha Street overpassing the walkway, so that if Rapid Creek floods again, the city's only six-lane arterial doesn't end up underwater.

[X99]

I can't find anything official online, but an automated call just came in saying that the I-90 service road would be closed between Bennett Road and Gisi Road (which is literally just a private driveway that for some reason is marked on Google Maps) between January 21st and February 19th. No reason is given, and Bennett Road will remain open. Because of this, I can't figure out if they're redoing something along that road (like the bridge over Box Elder Creek) or building the eastern tie-in for the Mall Drive extension.

Also, I still can't find anything on the construction start date for the Lacrosse DDI, the reconstruction of the Radar Hill/1416 intersection, or the reconstruction of Radar Hill Road itself.

Edit: I did find a small alert concerning the service road closure on boxelder.us, Box Elder's city website, but it just says the same thing as the phone call did.

[X99]

This was on the local news last night.

https://www.kotatv.com/content/news/Plans-for-a-self-contained-community-in-Box-Elder-567809431.html



I took this screenshot directly from the news clip. I couldn't find anything about the company online other than the news story, but it looks like they will try to extend Sunnydale Road (which is gravel), Cheyenne Boulevard, West Gate Road and Fox Trail across the gap between Exits 61 and 63 south of the freeway. This plan also shows Cheyenne Boulevard connecting directly to existing 228th Street rather than moving further north to connect to Radar Hills Drive, which imo is a much better idea. (Radar Hills is dirt, 228th is paved with a left turn lane from Radar Hill.)

Not too keen on the Fox Trail extension idea though. For one thing, that's the road I currently use to get out of my neighborhood, and adding a fourth direction to the intersection is just going to make it more congested, especially if Fox and Cheyenne are finished before Westgate. (Additional reason: those horses did nothing wrong to lose their little pasture to make way for this road!)

[X99]

I can't find anything official online, but an automated call just came in saying that the I-90 service road would be closed between Bennett Road and Gisi Road (which is literally just a private driveway that for some reason is marked on Google Maps) between January 21st and February 19th. No reason is given, and Bennett Road will remain open. Because of this, I can't figure out if they're redoing something along that road (like the bridge over Box Elder Creek) or building the eastern tie-in for the Mall Drive extension.

Also, I still can't find anything on the construction start date for the Lacrosse DDI, the reconstruction of the Radar Hill/1416 intersection, or the reconstruction of Radar Hill Road itself.

Edit: I did find a small alert concerning the service road closure on boxelder.us, Box Elder's city website, but it just says the same thing as the phone call did.

Update: the closure has been extended to March 3rd, and now also includes Bennett Road, the former detour. It seems the original closure was to fix/upgrade water pipes along the north side of the service road, but I see no reason for both roads to be closed at the same time unless the service road is being realigned to meet the Mall Drive extension.

[X99]

Construction has begun on an extension of Sunnydale Road in Box Elder as part of Alpha Omega, but not Cheyenne Boulevard. Farther west, Anamosa is being built eastward to Valley Drive, also under construction. "North Valley Drive" signage is in place at the East North Street and Creek Drive intersections, but the road is still closed to traffic.

Even farther west, Omaha Street is down to two lanes with a left turn lane where needed, from 12th Street to Cross Street. This project is expected to widen Omaha Street from five lanes to six, but it is estimated to take at least two years to complete.

[X99]

Reconstruction on the Radar Hill Road/Highway 1416 intersection has now been pushed back to 2023.

I found the official website for the Omaha Street reconstruction, and it states that the project will wrap up sometime in 2022. It also has a link to a story map that shows more detail on the planned final design of the roadway. Not too keen on the raised median, especially in front of some of the business entrances, but the most interesting thing I see is a planned 3+2 asymmetrical roadway between Mountain View Road and Deadwood Avenue.

I'm still not seeing anything on a start date for the Lacrosse DDI, and at this point I'm assuming it will be delayed by a year or two due to the ongoing Omaha Street Project, and in turn, all other planned DDIs in South Dakota will be delayed as well.

[M86]

I found the official website for the Omaha Street reconstruction, and it states that the project will wrap up sometime in 2022. It also has a link to a story map that shows more detail on the planned final design of the roadway. Not too keen on the raised median, especially in front of some of the business entrances, but the most interesting thing I see is a planned 3+2 asymmetrical roadway between Mountain View Road and Deadwood Avenue.

Motorists will get used to the raised median. It improves safety immensely. I'm a huge fan of them. Just make your U-turns at the signals. I wish I was more familiar with Rapid City, because you're the only other road geek from South Dakota on here.

I'm waiting for the adaptive traffic signal system they're putting in in Aberdeen along US Highway 12/6th Ave. It's scheduled for 2020, so only a few more months, hopefully.

[X99]

Driving down Omaha last week, I noticed that the Phase 4A construction on the west side of Deadwood Avenue seems to have already began, despite the rest of the project still being in Phase 1. I can't tell if it's because they finally realized that they never added the left turn lane at Krebs that was originally scheduled for 2019, or if they're just trying to get more done at once.

Motorists will get used to the raised median. It improves safety immensely. I'm a huge fan of them. Just make your U-turns at the signals. I wish I was more familiar with Rapid City, because you're the only other road geek from South Dakota on here.

Don't forget about SoDakInterstateEnthusiast.

I'm waiting for the adaptive traffic signal system they're putting in in Aberdeen along US Highway 12/6th Ave. It's scheduled for 2020, so only a few more months, hopefully.

In my eyes, "scheduled for 2020" immediately translates to "delayed to halfway through 2021." Either way, adaptive traffic signals should help no matter where in the state you put them, unless we're talking about the one at SD 44 and Mickelson Drive that seems to wait for traffic on 44 to show up before turning red and allowing Mickelson traffic through.

[X99]

Only one update today: earlier on my lunch break, I noticed that earthwork has begun to complete Cheyenne Boulevard between its current end at Iditarod Drive and its future endpoint at Radar Hill Road, and it looks like they're taking out at least half of the hillside to flatten the grade of the roadway. It's the only work I've seen done for Cheyenne (which still also lacks a protected left turn onto Elk Vale Road that it seems it should have by now), so it will be interesting to see how that progresses, despite the fact that I no longer live off of Radar Hill Road.

[SoDakInterstateEnthusiast]

I'm waiting for the adaptive traffic signal system they're putting in in Aberdeen along US Highway 12/6th Ave. It's scheduled for 2020, so only a few more months, hopefully.

YES.

[X99]

Phases 1, 1A, and 2A of the Omaha Street project are complete, and Phase 2 is active. It seems that a stoplight is being added at Cross Street as well. Phase 4A on the west side of Deadwood Avenue is also still in progress.

In other news, the Shepherd Hills development is making progress, with Anamosa Street completed to Philadelphia Street, and Philadelphia Street extended to a point almost directly south of the Eglin/Creek intersection. The first residences in the new neighborhood are already under construction as well, as can be seen from the WDT parking lot. The East Mall Drive extension is completed to a point just east of Americas Way, and is open to a new back entrance to the Flying J truck stop. In Box Elder, Villa Drive is being extended just south of Liberty Boulevard to make space for new businesses, the first of which is a strip mall already under construction. Briggs Street is also being extended south of its current endpoint at Villa Drive to a new endpoint at Liberty Boulevard.

Man, I should really check the county GIS map more often.

[X99]

The first half of the Omaha Street reconstruction, from 12th Street to just west of Cross Street, is complete and all six lanes are open to traffic. The stoplight at Cross Street is active as well. Construction on the rest of the project is reported to be delayed until spring.

In the Shepherd Hills development, Anamosa and Philadelphia Streets are open, with the first row of houses on Philadelphia Street completed and for sale. Some of them seem to have already been sold as well, as there were cars parked in a few of the driveways when I drove past. The south end of the new Philadelphia Street segment does not yet connect to the east-west portion of Philadelphia, but it does connect to Creek Drive. A mobile home (or tiny home?) park is being built off the south side of Philadelphia, extending to the property line of the trailer park west of Mickelson Drive. There seems to be no construction beginning on the Anamosa-Mickelson connection anytime soon, but it could be possible to cut across to Mickelson from the new trailer park once its roadways are complete. Back up near the houses, a four or five story apartment building is under construction, and from what I could tell, it seems like it would have a basement parking garage when finished.

I-90 Exit 63 had virtual public meetings a couple weeks ago to let the public see what options were available for the interchange rebuild there. The three options were a diamond on West Gate Road, a diamond on 1416 with a westward extension, and a DDI on 1416 with a westward extension. Personally I prefer the DDI, but whatever the outcome, I probably won't be here to see it completed.

The Lacrosse Street DDI project finally has a set start date sometime next month. Temporary traffic lights were set up at the intersection of Haines Avenue and Mall Drive last week to prepare for detours around Maple Avenue and Lacrosse Street during the project. The project is expected to be complete by June 2023.

[SD Mapman]

Motorists will get used to the raised median. It improves safety immensely. I'm a huge fan of them. Just make your U-turns at the signals. I wish I was more familiar with Rapid City, because you're the only other road geek from South Dakota on here.

Don't forget about SoDakInterstateEnthusiast.

And me, though I have been dormant for a very long time (no SD topics came up enough).

[SD Mapman]

The first half of the Omaha Street reconstruction, from 12th Street to just west of Cross Street, is complete and all six lanes are open to traffic. The stoplight at Cross Street is active as well. Construction on the rest of the project is reported to be delayed until spring.

Good to hear Omaha's finally progressing somewhere; it's going to be weird to have a stoplight at Cross.

I-90 Exit 63 had virtual public meetings a couple weeks ago to let the public see what options were available for the interchange rebuild there. The three options were a diamond on West Gate Road, a diamond on 1416 with a westward extension, and a DDI on 1416 with a westward extension. Personally I prefer the DDI, but whatever the outcome, I probably won't be here to see it completed.

My bet is they'll go with the diamond on West Gate; it's the cheapest option and if I know anything about the state government they go with the cheapest.

[SD Mapman]

I found the official website for the Omaha Street reconstruction, and it states that the project will wrap up sometime in 2022. It also has a link to a story map that shows more detail on the planned final design of the roadway. Not too keen on the raised median, especially in front of some of the business entrances, but the most interesting thing I see is a planned 3+2 asymmetrical roadway between Mountain View Road and Deadwood Avenue.

Motorists will get used to the raised median. It improves safety immensely. I'm a huge fan of them. Just make your U-turns at the signals. I wish I was more familiar with Rapid City, because you're the only other road geek from South Dakota on here.

There's been a raised median on Omaha from around East Blvd to I-190 for a while now and people have adjusted.

[X99]

From the two major project Facebook pages:

The Omaha Street project will resume March 1st to widen the segment between Cross Street and Mountain View Road to three lanes in each direction, and the segment between Mountain View Road and Deadwood Avenue to a 3+2 configuration with a raised median.

For the Lacrosse DDI project, the eastbound Haines Avenue onramp to I-90 is closed for the expansion of the eastbound I-90 bridge over Maple Avenue to three lanes. The bridge in question was rebuilt about a year and a half ago, so I'm a little confused as to why they wouldn't have widened it then, but it's possible the interchange project wasn't approved at that point. A temporary stoplight has been installed at the intersection of Haines Avenue and Mall Drive, the marked detour route for the closed ramp.

In other news, the Mall Drive extension is open from Elk Vale Road to a point just past Americas Way, although it seems the road won't see much use for quite a while.

[SoDakInterstateEnthusiast]

I'm curious, I've heard stuff about I-90 through Rapid City being widened to 3 in each direction to Sturgis (maybe) or something like that...
Is that happening? I think that would be pretty cool.

[X99]

I'm curious, I've heard stuff about I-90 through Rapid City being widened to 3 in each direction to Sturgis (maybe) or something like that...
Is that happening? I think that would be pretty cool.

I've heard of that before as well, but I don't think it's gonna happen anytime soon. The only sections of I-90 with written plans for six lanes near Rapid City are between Haines and Lacrosse (as continuous entrance/exit ramps), and between Elk Vale and old highway 1416 to support the full interchange rebuild planned for Exit 63.

[SD Mapman]

I'm curious, I've heard stuff about I-90 through Rapid City being widened to 3 in each direction to Sturgis (maybe) or something like that...
Is that happening? I think that would be pretty cool.

I've heard of that before as well, but I don't think it's gonna happen anytime soon. The only sections of I-90 with written plans for six lanes near Rapid City are between Haines and Lacrosse (as continuous entrance/exit ramps), and between Elk Vale and old highway 1416 to support the full interchange rebuild planned for Exit 63.

When they did the reconstruction from Exit 40 to Exit 46; the road was designed so that upgrading to 3 lanes each way would require minimal effort. From what I've heard, that's in the works, but it's not going to happen for a VERY long time.

[SD Mapman]

The bridge in question was rebuilt about a year and a half ago, so I'm a little confused as to why they wouldn't have widened it then, but it's possible the interchange project wasn't approved at that point.

I remember that surfacing project, and if I remember rightly it was only resurfacing, not structure improvements. They probably just didn't allocate the money for that that time around.

[X99]

Omaha Street through the construction zone is down to one lane in each direction through the finished six lane portion, presumably so they can landscape the median and brush up on the road markings. Traffic is also one lane each way through the Mountain View and Deadwood intersections to prepare for the rebuilds of both, with temporary traffic lights in place.

As of now, the main detour for Omaha Street is West Main Street, which is ALSO down to one lane westbound due to construction at the 11th Street intersection. However, they seem to be working on the water pipes underneath a portion of the intersection rather than a roadway reconfiguration, so I assume this construction is related to a water main issue or something similar.

I-90 is still two open lanes of traffic in each direction, but the lanes are shifted to the inside to prepare for the rebuilding of the Maple Avenue overpasses. From what I've been able to gather, the plans call for a temporary westbound offramp to be built and used while the main ramp is rebuilt, but I personally can't see this temporary ramp going anywhere other than the hotel parking lot, since everything between the current ramps and the northern edge of the ROW is being re-graded.

I will also add the links to the Facebook pages for both major projects, as well as each project's own site, to the first post in this thread.

[andy3175]

^^^ thank you for the update. I agree about the hotel parking lot, so I would like to see a map showing how that ramp would work.

SM-G975U

[SD Mapman]

Couldn't they just connect it to the east end of Disk Drive, around the east side of the Holiday Inn Express? That seems the most logical to me.

[X99]

So it turns out I was completely wrong about the temporary Exit 59 westbound ramp- it follows the path of the new ramp, staying on the left side about halfway from the freeway to the intersection, then crossing to the right side the rest of the way to Lacrosse. The westbound onramp is now completely closed, and construction is well underway on the widening of the Maple Avenue bridges.

Further west, the Omaha Street bridge over Rapid Creek is also well underway, with traffic still one lane each way on the south side of the bridge. At this point in time, the quickest detour I have found to get to the northwest side of town (not the West Main/Jackson area) is to take Universal Drive off of Deadwood Avenue, visibly the longest possible route to that area, but with the backups at the Deadwood/Omaha/Chicago intersection, it's faster to take Universal to bypass that intersection completely.

On the south side of town, there seems to be a resurfacing project underway on the US 16 Bypass bridge over SD 79, with westbound traffic forced into the right side left turn lane to go straight through the light and eastbound traffic pushed against the center median. Luckily, this project seems to be nearing completion.

In Box Elder, Briggs Street between Villa Drive and Liberty Boulevard is complete, but the road remains closed and blocked off, presumably because the markings aren't finished. That road is now planned to be continued as part of the Liberty Park complex, under construction in an area whose borders are Ellsworth Road, Liberty Boulevard, Tower Road (if it was extended due south from its current endpoint), and the Valley Village trailer park. Construction of this complex is still in the beginning stages, with no buildings or roads ready for construction at this time.

[X99]

Update: the resurfacing project on the US 16 Bypass bridge over SD 79 is now complete, and all lanes are open again.