By Gary Dickson garydickson@siouxlandobserver.com

A public meeting sponsored by the South Dakota Department of Transportation (SDDOT), City of North Sioux City and Stockwell Engineers of Sioux Falls drew lots of interest Monday night at the North Sioux City Community Center. At least 85 southern Union County residents and landowners attended the meeting to get information on the project that will construct a new road that will bypass Northshore Drive by McCook Lake.

People were able to talk one-on-one to engineers from Stockwell Engineers as well as consulting engineers from Felsburg, Holt & Ullevig who are specialists in transportation planning, and WSB, another engineering firm consulting on the project. Also available at the meeting was Paula Huizenga, the project administrator from SDDOT.

The goals of the project are to alleviate traffic and safety concerns on Northshore Drive and provide necessary utilities to the surrounding area to meet the needs of North Sioux City. The project improvements are expected to include new concrete surfacing, curb and gutter, storm sewer, water main, sanitary sewer, and lighting. 

Monday night people clustered around presentation easels holding enlarged project exhibits in different parts of the Community Center. At each exhibit were engineers from one of the three engineering organizations answering questions and explaining the drawings to local residents.

At one easel, Stockwell Engineers President Jon Brown showed three alternatives to the bypass road to a small group of landowners. It appeared one of the landowners was concerned that one of the alternatives was going to encroach on her family’s land and she was wondering how much they would be paid for that inconvenience. Brown indicated he didn’t know at this time, or if the bypass would actually cut across their land.

At another easel, Kornel Gwiazdowgki, an engineer for Felsburg, Holt & Ullevig was discussing intersection studies and traffic circles or roundabouts with a man who appeared to have either concerns or some amount of knowledge about the topic. The man refused to give his name for identification for the photo and quickly left the room.

Other easels drawing attention were ones showing a cutaway drawing of the proposed roadway. That illustration showed a boulevard-like road with pedestrian pathways on both sides and a bicycle lane on the right side of one lane. Another easel featured environmental reviews that will or have been conducted of the proposed bypass sites. They include: wetlands and waters, regulated sites for hazardous materials, threatened and endangered species, floodplains and drainage, potential cultural resources and historical sites, recreational resources, and prime farmland.

According to Stockwell Engineers’ Brown, construction on the project won’t begin for another two-and-a-half years in December 2025 or January 2026. Up next will be the project design stage followed by a second public meeting tentatively scheduled for sometime in August 2024. Final plans are projected to be developed during the last quarter of 2024. In the first five months of 2025, the final plans will be reviewed and approved by the State of South Dakota and the federal government. Project bidding will occur during the last five and a half months of 2025 before construction begins.

A $17M grant was awarded to construct a new bypass road between Interstate 29 and Westshore Drive. This grant was earmarked for the project as Congressionally Directed Spending, as part of the 2022 Federal Omnibus Bill. The grant is administered through SDDOT with North Sioux City acting as the local sponsor. SDDOT awarded an engineering contract to Stockwell Engineers for the survey, design, and bidding of the project. Stockwell is acting as the Project Manager under the direction and administration of SDDOT.

Written comments on the public meeting will be accepted until Monday, Nov. 13, 2023. For more information, contact Paula Huizenga, Grants Program Engineer, at 605-773-6253 or paula.huizenga@state.sd.us.

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