Regional Boards > Central States
Rapid City area road construction and South Dakota's first DDI
SD Mapman:
--- Quote from: Alps on November 14, 2022, 05:36:11 PM ---
--- Quote from: X99 on November 14, 2022, 12:51:54 PM ---All lanes are now open on Omaha through the Cambell intersection, however, that annoying tiny median curb is still in place on the east side of the intersection. Hoping that work has been paused for the winter, in order to keep as many lanes open as possible for when it starts snowing, and that the tiny curb will be removed in the spring.
Another recent observation I've made regarding the Lacrosse interchange: the two bridges are at visibly different elevations on the north end, with the new bridge's road deck at least six inches higher than the old bridge's deck. Not sure if it was built like that so the new bridge could settle, or if the new bridge is supposed to be that much higher than the old one.
--- End quote ---
As a civil engineer: bridges don't get built 6" higher to settle. That's the bridge. Any settlement is addressed before a structure is built using overbuilt piles of dirt.
--- End quote ---
There was probably something in the IMJR about wanting a higher clearance than the old Lacrosse bridge for some reason or another. SDDOT did that at Exit 14 as well, raised the bridge a bit and lowered I-90.
Knowing the geography, it has an off chance of settling anyway and being undrivable while they try to stabilize the bedrock (see Exit 52).
X99:
--- Quote from: SD Mapman on November 14, 2022, 10:23:41 PM ---
--- Quote from: Alps on November 14, 2022, 05:36:11 PM ---
--- Quote from: X99 on November 14, 2022, 12:51:54 PM ---All lanes are now open on Omaha through the Cambell intersection, however, that annoying tiny median curb is still in place on the east side of the intersection. Hoping that work has been paused for the winter, in order to keep as many lanes open as possible for when it starts snowing, and that the tiny curb will be removed in the spring.
Another recent observation I've made regarding the Lacrosse interchange: the two bridges are at visibly different elevations on the north end, with the new bridge's road deck at least six inches higher than the old bridge's deck. Not sure if it was built like that so the new bridge could settle, or if the new bridge is supposed to be that much higher than the old one.
--- End quote ---
As a civil engineer: bridges don't get built 6" higher to settle. That's the bridge. Any settlement is addressed before a structure is built using overbuilt piles of dirt.
--- End quote ---
There was probably something in the IMJR about wanting a higher clearance than the old Lacrosse bridge for some reason or another. SDDOT did that at Exit 14 as well, raised the bridge a bit and lowered I-90.
Knowing the geography, it has an off chance of settling anyway and being undrivable while they try to stabilize the bedrock (see Exit 52).
--- End quote ---
Higher clearance would make sense if it applied to both the old and new bridge. From what I know, there are no plans to replace the old bridge, only modifying it to fit the new configuration. As for the new bridge being undrivable while it stabilizes, that doesn't fit either- it's currently the only open bridge, and it opened as soon as the approaches were finished.
As for why I thought it needed to settle, I lived in a house in Box that settled continuously for the whole twelve years I lived there due to the soil types under the house (and an incorrectly built foundation that spurred a ten year lawsuit, but that's a different story). It could also be an issue of perspective- coming towards the interchange from the north means going uphill, and I might have looked at it wrong and seen an incline where there wasn't one. I'll have to check again after today's snowstorm goes away.
SD Mapman:
--- Quote from: X99 on November 15, 2022, 12:35:25 PM ---As for why I thought it needed to settle, I lived in a house in Box that settled continuously for the whole twelve years I lived there due to the soil types under the house (and an incorrectly built foundation that spurred a ten year lawsuit, but that's a different story).
--- End quote ---
Yup, the soils are garbage out there, and if a contractor doesn't compact properly you're in for the long haul.
X99:
Despite the snow still on the ground, the spring construction season starts today with the closure of Lacrosse Street south of its intersection with Omaha, to begin reconstruction of the Omaha-Lacrosse intersection. This should be one of the final pieces of the east Highway 44 rebuild, as the new sidewalk from Lacrosse to Covington is already complete.
Moving to the south side, St Patrick Street will close tomorrow for resurfacing just west of 5th Street, with detours following 6th and St Francis to the southwest.
The Lacrosse DDI has yet to resume work, so no news there, but a new project has begun downtown: Block 5. The only current road closure for construction of the city's newest skyscraper is on 6th Street between St Joseph and the first alley to the south, as that area is being used for construction traffic and temporary storage. This closure is planned to last the full length of the project, at least 24 months.
X99:
So it turns out the Lacrosse DDI did resume construction, I just missed it: all of the new stoplights are in place on the south side, and the smaller stoplight posts are in place on the north side median. Given the continuous on and off snow we keep getting every week, I'm not sure when the traffic configuration will change again, but when it does, it should match the DDI pattern instead of the current diamond layout.
Due south of this project, the Lacrosse-Omaha intersection rebuild is in full swing, with all of the signal lights removed (though as of now, two of the four old mast arms are still in place), only one lane in each direction on Omaha, and a westbound-only RIRO with Lacrosse to the north. The south side of the intersection has already been torn up for reconstruction, and the crews were still working through the snow as I drove past this morning on my way to work.
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