The city has approved a detour agreement with the South Dakota Dept. of Transportation for the Highway 37 project.
The $8 million project, which is scheduled to begin next week, will reconstruct 1.1 miles of Highway 37/Dakota Avenue from 15th Street N to 3rd Street N. Turn lanes will be added to the Highway 14 intersection and the 21st Street intersection will be reconstructed.
The work includes grading, concrete paving, placing curb and gutter, sidewalk and storm sewer, lighting and signal upgrades.
Raymond Stern with the DOT office in Huron says it is a complicated project in terms of traffic control. He says it is best to move detour traffic onto Kansas.
Stern says the project will be done in phases.
The detours will include:
- Highway 37 turn right on 9th St. turn left onto Kansas Ave turn left onto 14th St. back to Highway 37
- Highway 37 turn right on 9th St. turn left onto Kansas Ave turn left onto 15th St. back to Highway 37
- Highway 37 turn right on 5th St. turn left onto Kansas Ave turn left onto 15th St. back to Highway 37
- Highway 37 turn right on 5th St. turn left onto Kansas Ave turn left onto 10th St. back to Highway 37
Three blocks of Kansas from 7th street N. to 10th street N. which is currently gravel will be paved.
Stern says the project will take all summer and will not be completed by the SD State Fair.
Also, last night there was a work session to discuss the World’s Largest Pheasant lease agreement.
Laurie Shelton executive director of the Huron Chamber & Visitor’s Bureau says the owner of the 60-year-old Huron icon and the building it resides on has now indicated he will sell the pheasant for $50,000. Shelton says he has told the Chamber that he has a buyer for the building who is also interested in keeping the pheasant. According to the lease agreement, the Chamber has the right of first refusal to purchase the bird.
Shelton says it will cost $26,270 to repair and repaint the pheasant. Attempting to move the pheasant involves the risk of damaging it in the process. She says another possibility would be building a new pheasant that would be located at another site in Huron. The estimated to cost is $75,000.
The 10-year lease agreement expires in 2020.