SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — The first segment of South Veterans Parkway in Sioux Falls is officially open for drivers.
Monday morning, drivers could finally use the 2-mile stretch of South Veterans Parkway between Cliff and Western Avenue.
“We hear a lot from our from our public about some congestion and the time it takes to get from point A to point B, so this will help,” City of Sioux Falls principal engineer Mike Heiberger said.
The project took about a year and a half to complete with work getting underway in June of 2023.
“Just the size and volume of construction that we have out here, it was $49.6 million worth of work. There was over a million cubic yards of dirt to be moved,” Heiberger said.
With the speed limit at 50 miles per hour, the Sioux Falls Police Department plans to monitor South Veterans Parkway closely.
“To say that we’ll have officers monitoring, that will be an understatement. We’ve reached out to Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, our partners over there, as well as South Dakota Highway Patrol, to keep an eye on it as well,” Sgt. Travis Olsen of the Sioux Falls Police Department said.
“The northern section, we kind of had some different speed limits at 45, 50 and 55. Ultimately, we decided that 50 was the safe number to run with and to make sure that we get a consistent speed through our corridor,” Heiberger said.
But, there was not a lot of traffic for the police to monitor Monday.
“I anticipate as our traveling public becomes aware that that it is open and can be taken, we anticipate more volume to be on the corridor,” Heiberger said.
Crews will start working on the segment between Cliff and Sycamore Avenue in 2025. The full project is expected to be completed by 2027.
