Sioux Falls' next interchange? City, developers prepare for 85th Street project

Patrick Anderson
Sioux Falls Argus Leader
Construction workers place water mains along 85th Street on Thursday, June 4 in Sioux Falls.

A muddy ravine cuts a path between a couple of quiet townhome communities toward rolling farmland and Interstate 29.

This is West 85th Street. For now, it’s a massive construction zone and an impossible-to-miss indicator of future growth.

Overturned earth will eventually become roadways and the surrounding area, still mostly rolling patches of grass and crops, is destined for development.

All of it will become the next focal point for Sioux Falls’ rapid growth – a bustling district of retailers, offices and housing, all with easy access to I-29 and the rest of the region.

More:Lloyd Cos. to break ground on $40M development at 57th and Bahnson

Joel Dykstra thinks in terms of decades when it comes to the planned 85th Street interchange, but he also compares the potential of this quiet, currently rural swath of land to the 41st Street interchange, one of the busiest commercial hubs in South Dakota.

All if it starts with the interchange.

Construction workers place water mains along 85th Street on Thursday, June 4 in Sioux Falls.

“None of these big boxes or hotels or anything, none of those people are going to build until there’s an interchange,” Dykstra said. “They have to see it done and then they’ll come.”

Dykstra is the CEO of RMB Enterprises, which owns undeveloped parcels along 85th Street on both sides of the interstate.

More:Construction continues in southeastern Dells through summer

Developers such as RMB have taken an active role in working with City Hall and pushing along the interchange, which is fast approaching reality. With construction slated to start next year, the project’s environmental assessment is nearly ready for public input and city officials have been carrying out plans to prepare the surrounding roads and infrastructure for increased traffic.

Where things stand

The interchange would connect roads between Sioux Falls and Tea. Preparing for its arrival has been a collaborative effort between several local governing bodies including representatives from both cities, plus Lincoln County and Dykstra’s group.

Crews for the city of Sioux Falls have been busy improving 85th Street between Hughes to Tallgrass avenues. The $5 million project includes installing sewer and water mains and preparing the road for higher traffic volumes, including street and pedestrian lighting.

City officials also plan to start looking at design work for Tallgrass next year, with the goal of transforming the gravel road into a paved road by 2022, said Mark Cotter, public works director for the city of Sioux Falls. Growth in the nearby area of southwestern Sioux Falls, with the new Avera on Louise campus, the Citibank offices and other big projects has been enough to justify the work for city officials.

Construction workers place water mains along 85th Street on Thursday, June 4 in Sioux Falls.

“We’re seeing more and more development happening out there, so it becomes a nice complement to first build out your arterial street system,” Cotter said. “That’s what’s occurring. The interchange will come and complement later.”

City officials have applied for the U.S. Department of Transportation’s INFRA grant program, which awards hundreds of millions of dollars each year to projects that help economic development and foster public-private partnerships.

City Hall also recently filed for an additional grant through DOT’s BUILD program, designated for transportation projects such as roads and bridges, as long as they have significant local or regional impact. Cotter said he expects to hear back this summer and fall about whether the federal programs can help cover the cost of the interchange.

What will it look like?

City officials hosted an open house at Tea City Hall in April, 2019, inviting members of the public to learn about the various options being considered for the interchange. Along with a number of different options for the 85th Street project, presenters also shared a design called diverging diamond interchange.

The diverging diamond, like the interchange at 41st Street, is safer, with better sight lines. It’s also cheaper, with fewer lanes, less bridge material and less right-of-way needed.

City staff estimated a price of roughly $20 million for the interchange.

A planned intersection off-ramp at 85th Street could be a diverging diamond.

It was developers who took up the mantle several years ago when government officials instead conducted an environmental impact assessment for an overpass similar to the ones at 57th and 69th streets, intentionally avoiding a closer look at an interchange because it wasn’t identified as an option in South Dakota’s transportation planning program.

RMB joined with some of the city’s most well-known developers early in the planning process to form the 85th Street Business Joint Venture group, with original members including representatives from Lloyd, Benson, Lemme, Cutler and Hegg.

They had a different vision for 85th than state officials. Private developers put up $4 million of their own money to forward the cause of an interchange, not an overpass, covering the costs of the preliminary studies typically contracted by local and state governments.

Facing the future

The group drafted what’s known as an Interchange Justification Report, a 90-page analysis of transportation needs, options for construction and traffic volumes. The 2018 report identified four primary needs for the interchange: meeting the needs of high growth in the immediate area, improving access to the interstate, taking advantage of economic development potential and increasing road safety.

The IJR helped the project clear a hurdle with the Federal Highway Administration and move forward with the ongoing environmental assessment work.

Construction workers place water mains along 85th Street on Thursday, June 4 in Sioux Falls.

While the environmental assessment is nearing completion, the coronavirus pandemic has caused a delay in the timeline, Dykstra said.

“It’s hard to have public meetings,” he said.

Even with the delay, Dykstra said the project is on track with its expected timeline, with construction slated to begin in 2021 and take a full three years to complete.

And that’s just another starting point for RMB and other developers. The interchange opens the door to what Dykstra describes as a “whole different league” of growth.

“You’d expect all kinds of things,” he said. “Everything from big retailers to hotels to apartments to offices.”