Sioux Falls, South Dakota, has experienced significant population growth for years, and it is expected to continue into the foreseeable future. The city and the Sioux Falls Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) identified the need to expand Sioux Falls’ infrastructure in the early 1990s.
The South Veterans Parkway (SVP), an 8-plus-mile, six-lane roadway, is a response to transportation needs identified by the MPO. Currently, the South Dakota Department of Transportation (SDDOT), the City of Sioux Falls, and general contractor John Riley Construction Inc. are working on the second of four SVP segments.
According to the City of Sioux Falls website, “South Veterans Parkway is the remaining 8.7 miles of Veterans Parkway that will connect Interstate 29 to Interstate 90.” Construction began on the first segment of SVP in spring 2023, just a couple of years after North Veterans Parkway (NVP) was completed. The entire Veterans Parkway Corridor is 16.3 miles. It covers both the south and east sides of the Sioux Falls growth area.
Ultimately, SVP will connect the existing Veterans Parkway to Interstate 90 and is expected to accommodate the future traffic needs from the planned growth areas.
“Once completed, instead of traveling through the middle of the city to get to various destinations on congested streets, Veterans Parkway will be another option for users to go around the city to get to their destination, resulting in less congestion and preservation of core neighborhoods of the city,” City of Sioux Falls Principal Engineer Mike Heiberger said.
SVP, which will have a 50-mph speed limit, will include a shared-use path along the south side of the parkway. A grass boulevard will separate the path from the roadway.
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The second segment of SVP includes substantial grading work — 1.5 million cubic yards of earthwork. The amount of fill for the entire corridor is approximately 3.5 million cubic yards.
The project is being constructed on land that was previously farmland, and therefore the roadbed for the southern corridor needed to be built up to prepare for the gravel base. Right of way acquisition has played a significant role in the project.
“People knew development and growth were coming and have supported the project,” Heiberger said. “We have to justify the need for the land, appraise it, and pay them a fair market price, following federal standards.”
Along with designing the project, HDR Engineering is coordinating right of way acquisition and utility work.
In addition to the grading work, this section of SVP requires concrete paving (14 lane miles of concrete or 84,000 cubic yards), 4 miles of fiber optic cable, 3.4 miles of storm sewer pipes, 120 light poles, 15 miles of pavement markings, 9,100 pounds of grass seed, and 95,000 tons of gravel.
The area surrounding the SVP includes wetlands and serves as the city's natural drainage. Sioux Falls has a master drainage plan for this area.
“Combining drainage areas and the need for fill for the corridor construction was coordinated closely between the city and SDDOT,” Heiberger said. “By coordinating and consolidating the corridor's drainage needs with the fill needs, the project did not require any contractor-furnished fill.
“The City of Sioux Falls partnered with SDDOT to develop and construct regional stormwater ponds along the SVP corridor. Several locations were strategically identified as borrow sites to provide the necessary fill material for roadway construction and to provide stormwater treatment in support of future development.”
The ponds that were excavated provided the dirt needed to build the South Veterans Parkway roadbed. The excavated material was used to achieve the desired roadway grade.
“If we asked a contractor to find 3.5 million cubic yards of dirt, it would be very expensive,” Heiberger said. “Transporting the material to the site would also affect the schedule and potentially damage our existing roadway network.”
Sioux Falls has a regional stormwater program that constructs large regional stormwater ponds to provide rate control (detention) and water quality treatment for adjacent development.
“The program allows development to occur without requiring numerous onsite stormwater ponds and still addresses drainage requirements through the regional, city-maintained facility,” Heiberger said. “The costs associated with the construction of the stormwater ponds are then recovered through a platting fee as the land develops.”
“The ponds are typically constructed before or in coordination with the development of the area,” he added. “The South Veterans Parkway corridor was largely undeveloped, so it provided a great opportunity to have stormwater treatment in place ahead of development.”
Another benefit is that the regional detention ponds created a more controlled release system to help the downstream properties.
The regional detention ponds have maintenance benches around the perimeter for the city’s storm drainage maintenance teams. The maintenance benches allow better access for vegetation control and pond cleanout, and they also serve as a nature walking path for nearby residents.
The Veterans Parkway project is expected to include six additional regional stormwater ponds (up to 35 feet deep) and improvements to two existing regional ponds. The additional ponds are needed to capture run-off rainfall that was once handled naturally, as water would land on fields and soak into the ground.
Segment two, which takes up where segment one ended, will have two pedestrian underpasses for the shared-use path and a bridge that crosses over the BNSF Railroad.
“We’re using stainless steel in place of epoxy-coated steel, which was the norm for a long time,” Heiberger said. “Stainless steel does not rust like other steel options, so the concrete deck will last longer due to reduced spalling.”
John Riley Construction Inc., out of Morris, Minnesota, has worked with SDDOT on multiple projects and served as the general contractor for the final segment of NVP and the first segment of SVP.
“They’re an excellent contractor and have done a great job moving the large amount of borrow material on the project to set up the project for success,” Heiberger said. “They’re very efficient at dirt moving and underground utility installation [storm sewer].”
Heiberger has also been impressed with Riley’s personnel.
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“Their superintendent is an excellent manager and scheduler,” he said. “He assembled a great team of subcontractors to complete this project.”
Construction began on the project in spring 2025, with substantial completion targeted for November 2026 and fieldwork completion in July 2027. At this point, the project is trending ahead of schedule.
“The contractor’s scheduling, coordination, attention to detail, long hours logged, and identification of pinch points in the schedule all contributed to the positive outcome,” Heiberger said.
The team was also able to use the winter season to its advantage.
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“We completed 90 percent of the dirt work, utility installations, and gravel placement in year one,” Heiberger said, “which allowed for a freeze-thaw cycle to happen over winter to help avoid settlement problems.”
The construction budget for the project is $41.7 million, and it is anticipated to be on budget at the time of completion. Heiberger credits this to the partnership between Riley, the City of Sioux Falls, and SDDOT.
Funding for the project includes $5.7 million from the City of Sioux Falls, $7.2 million from SDDOT, and $28.8 million from the Federal Highway Administration.
The team will soon complete segment two of the South Veterans Parkway, with segments three and four expected to be complete by 2029. Even though the project is still in progress, SVP is already making a difference. The project is changing traffic patterns as more drivers are choosing SVP rather than I-229 and the city’s arterial streets.
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“As SVP continues to be built out, traffic will continue to pick up in the corridor,” Heiberger said. “That will change patterns and move people more effectively through Sioux Falls.”
- Owner: South Dakota Department of Transportation
- General Contractor: John Riley Construction, Morris, South Dakota
- Designer: HDR Engineering, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
- Engineers: HDR Engineering; Sayre Associates, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
- Other Contractors: T&R Contracting, Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Grandgaard Construction, Interior, South Dakota; Action Electric, Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Double H Paving, Tea, South Dakota
