Feds sending $16M to Pine Ridge for 'transformational infrastructure project'
Kadoka also on tap for roadway enhancements as part of White House grant program
A major South Dakota highway that runs through the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation is getting a multi-million-dollar overhaul as part of ongoing infrastructure investments coming from Washington, D.C.
The offices of President Joe Biden and U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced Thursday that they've dedicated $16.7 million from what's called the National Infrastructure Project Assistance (Mega) grant program to finance the reconstruction of South Dakota Highway 73 in western South Dakota.
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"With this announcement, we are advancing projects so large, complex, and ambitious that they could not get funded under the infrastructure programs that existed prior to the Biden administration," said Buttigieg, who visited South Dakota in September to survey the state's transportation challenges as well as prior investments made here under the Biden administration.
The Mega grant awarded to South Dakota will reconstruct nearly 9 miles of South Dakota Highway 73. Improvements include expanding roadway shoulders, installing edge-line rumble strips, addressing deficient horizontal and vertical curves, installing culverts, and adding lighting. The roadway itself will also be widened while aging and outdated infrastructure along the corridor will be replaced.
A portion of the funds will also cover the cost of lighting improvements along a mile stretch of South Dakota Highway 248 in Kadoka.
According to the White House, the Mega grant program focuses on projects that are "uniquely large, complex, and difficult to fund under traditional grant programs."
