Progress continues on the Highway 10 road construction project between Britton and Houghton, but heavy rainfall this summer has caused significant delays.
The $4.8 million South Dakota Department of Transportation project, contracted to RR Schroeder Construction, Inc. of Glenwood, Minn., is aimed at widening the roadway shoulders to improve safety. The work also includes pipe and structure replacement, erosion control, and modifications at the intersection turn lane. The project began last year and was originally scheduled to run through the fall of 2025.
According to the DOT’s information page on the project, between July 15 and Aug. 15, crews widened shoulders, stripped topsoil, hauled in borrow and granular material, completed pipe work, and installed erosion control measures. Subcontractors also began building box culverts. Similar work is planned through mid-September, weather permitting.
But weather has been the main obstacle. “The rain every week has slowed it down exponentially,” said Aberdeen Area Engineer Lane Goldsmith with the SD Department of Transportation. “We’re about a month behind schedule. On a job like this, there’s not much we can do until it dries out. It’s a dirt job, and when it’s this wet, there aren’t a lot of options.”
Goldsmith said crews are working whenever possible, but often time is spent dewatering — which is further complicated by regulations on how and where that water can be released. For now, a pilot car is in use when construction is underway, and the road is fully open when crews are not on site.
Because of the delays, Goldsmith said he does not anticipate the project being finished this year. “We can work until the ground freezes, then we’ll pick up where we left off in the spring,” he explained. The plan calls for paving the shoulder once construction is complete, with the entire stretch of road scheduled to be paved the following year.
Temperature: 65°F Town: Britton, SD
Pressure: 998 hPa
Wind: 7 mph
