Featured Project

PROJECT

BIA Route 7 is a vital arterial corridor in the community that spans from the City of Rosebud to US Highway 83. The roadway was in poor condition. Travelers and workers in the area experienced transportation challengesincluding limited visibility, lack of transportation access, and constrained transportation options along the BIA route. The area also experienced a high crash rate on the unsafe corridor. 

SOLUTION 

KLJ prepared a dynamic grant application package seeking a Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant from the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) to fund the $14.2 million reconstruction of the vital roadway. The improvement project reconstructed six miles of BIA Route 7 and 2.4 miles of 269th Avenue in Todd County. It included intersection reconfiguration, construction of pedestrian infrastructure, and a wide range of safety enhancements. The project increases safe, efficient regional connectivity between tribally owned farmland and private businesses.  The design challenges included balancing nearly 1.4 million cubic yards of dirt - cutting a large hill and balancing the quantity at six miles, water main and sanitary sewer relocations, incorporating American with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant sideway ramp design on eight-percent road grade, and evaluating how to widen the Rosebud Dam concrete pavement in order to incorporate space for pedestrians to safely cross the roadway and keep a safe distance from vehicular traffic. 

RESULT

KLJ performed the topographic and cadastral survey, engineering design, environmental resources surveys, environmental permits and clearances, and right-of-way platting and acquistion assistance for the project, along with successfully receiving a $14.6 million TIGER grant. 

The improvement project included designing safer access across the Rosebud Lake Dam. The existing concrete pavement was barely wide enough for vehicular traffic and pedestrians were unsafely crossing in the travel lane on a daily basis. To help with this issue, a retaining wall and concrete pavement expansion was designed to incorporate a new pathway for pedestrians and bicyclists including a handrail and guardrail for protection. 

Another unique component of the project was utilizing the existing asphalt and base course of the existing roadway. Granular surfacing was used by recycling the materials and reusing them in the new pavement, creating cost effectiveness and roadway efficiency. Geotextile was also incorporated into the pavement structure to improve pavement resiliency. 

The project was designed to meet or exceed current safety standards, pedestrian and bicyclist infrastructure was incorporated into the design, intersections were reconfigured to increase safety of the traveling public, approaches were redesigned for better access, and lighting was also installed on the roadway and pathway. The project was honored with the 2022 Outstanding Engineering Achievement Award from the South Dakota Engineering Society (SDES) and American Council of Engineering Companies of South Dakota (ACEC/SD).