South Dakota DOT looking for fill material for northeast South Dakota highway project

July 18, 2022

 

WATERTOWN, S.D. – In 2024, the South Dakota Department of Transportation (SDDOT) plans to administer a construction project on S.D. Highway 15 from Clear Lake south to S.D. Highway 28 west of Toronto.

 

The purpose of this project is to enhance the safety and function of the roadway through grading, shoulder widening, replacing culverts, and improving sight distances.

 

The proposed improvements to the roadway will generate the need for a large quantity of fill material. The fill material (known as borrow) is located beneath the topsoil. Borrow material is removed from the landowner’s property by lowering an existing hill/ridge or creating a dugout/hole.

 

To date, the SDDOT has experienced difficulties with finalizing borrow sites for this project due to various factors which include site location, proximity to wetlands, or undesirable physical properties of the material.

 

The SDDOT cannot alter drainage or wetlands through the borrow process. Due to the inability to secure adequate borrow sites, the SDDOT is now at risk of needing to delay this project until adequate borrow sites for the project can be secured.

 

The SDDOT is reaching out to area landowners to generate interest as a borrow provider. The SDDOT will consider and evaluate all prospective sites within five miles or less from the construction project. Since the majority of the borrow is required within the south 4 miles of the project, preference will be granted to potential sites within that area.