SDDOT unveils Hwy. 385 plan

By Leslie Silverman

 

A Hwy. 385 stakeholders meeting on April 21 disclosed the plans for the highway construction project set to take place 2024-27.

The South Dakota Derpartment of Transportation (SDDOT) will reconstruc the highway between the Pennington and Lawrence county lines to the south end of Sheridan Lake/Calumet Road.

The $72 million project will be completed using Federal Highway Administration funds. Once completed the corridor will meet certain standards that it does not currently meet. Site distances for hills and curves will be redesigned  to give drivers more time to react. Roadway shoulders will be broadened from two to three feet to eight feet when possible to help drivers navigate safely. Rumble strips will be added as well.

In addition the current roadway has a clear zone of two to 16 feet which will be increased to 30 feet. Todd Seaman of the SDDOT said the completed project will not change the aesthetics of the road. 

“Once it’s done it’ll still be a nice scenic drive through the Black Hills,” he said.

The project will increase the safety of the corridor. Seaman says when compared to typical state highways 385 sees a “disproportionate” number of crashes. The project will also allow for multiple box culverts, like the ones at Horse Creek and Prairie Creek, that are near the end of their lifetime to be replaced. Once the project is finished, Sheridan Lake Road and Custer Gulch Road will have left turn lanes to help improve traffic flow.

There are two phases to the project. 

Phase 1 takes place in the spring of 2024. Two closures will occur during this time. Closure A extends from the boat ramp to Pactola Dam, from June 3 to July 26, 2024. Closure B, which extends from  Hwy. 44  to the  boat ramp,  takes place June 3-24, 2024. However the road will be open Fridays at noon until 6 a.m. Mondays for boat ramp access.

Phase 2, taking place between spring of 2025 and fall of 2026, is more complicated and has three closures. Closure C extends from Sheridan Lake Road to Be Still Road  from  April 28 through June 13, 2025.

Closure D impacts Be Still Road to Calumet Road,  Aug. 12 through Oct. 17, 2025.

Closure E is from Pactola Dam to Custer Gulch Road Oct. 20, 2025 through  April 17, 2026.

Access to local roads, Be Still and Victoria Lake, will be maintained during these Phase 2 closures.

Detours during the construction will be via state highways with a clear, well-marked route plan in place.

The 385 corridor project was conceived with input from many community groups in Hill City and the impacted areas. The SDDOT did numerous outreach programs and considered the needs of multiple stakeholders. 

For example, the Hill City School District and parents of Hill City students were part of the process so that busses could be safely rerouted during construction. The SDDOT also spoke with business owners, representatives of the Black Hills National Forest, landowners, chamber of commerce representatives and city and state representatives. 

Trail advocacy groups, too, were consulted since Centennial Trail users are also impacted by the project.

Centennial Trail users  won’t be able to cross 385 starting June 3, 2024, until an underpass under the highway is finished, likely July 26, 2024. The underpass will be permanent, giving users a safer route than the current trail crossing. Signs will be posted at trailheads.

The SDDOT has more outreach meetings scheduled including its unveiling of the project April 27 at Rimrock Church from 4-7 p.m.

A 10-minute continuous-loop video  explaining the project will be played. In addition,  poster boards explaining the project will give the public multiple points of view as to what the construction entails. 

More information about the project can be found at www.us-385.com