South Dakota Transportation Commission Awards Big Grants

The South Dakota Transportation Commission has awarded 35 preservation, rehabilitation, and replacement Bridge Improvement Grants (BIG) totaling approximately $39 million. The goal of the grant process is to enhance the overall condition of critical assets that South Dakotans are dependent upon each and every day. 

Recipients include projects in Brookings, McCook, Miner, Minnehaha, and Lake counties. 

Seventy-four applications totaling $97.7 million in total project costs were received. In total, eight cities submitted nine applications and 28 counties submitted 65 applications.

Each year, $7 million is dedicated from license plate fees and from non-commercial vehicle fees. In addition, SDDOT annually sets aside $8 million per year of state highway funds, for a total of $15 million available for the BIG grants. This year, the Transportation Commission awarded approximately $2.4 million in preliminary engineering grants,, and reallocated approximately $1.4 million from closed projects.

To date, the BIG program has awarded $142 million in grants to local governments, including the allocations made this year.