South Dakota’s nearly 82,000 miles of roadways include over 74,000 miles of local roads, where 45 percent of fatal and serious injury crashes occur. To improve safety, the South Dakota Department of Transportation is investing $1.2 million to upgrade county, tribal, township, and small city roads to meet federal Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices or MUTCD standards. These upgrades focus on improving signage at intersections and curves, areas identified as key risks in South Dakota DOT’s Strategic Highway Safety Plan. Compliance with MUTCD standards has been shown to reduce injury crashes by 15 percent. Additionally, the upgrades include installing mile markers and street signs to help emergency responders locate crash sites more quickly, improving survival chances. Many local jurisdictions lack the resources to tackle these projects alone, but through federal safety funds and South Dakota DOT’s leadership, these improvements are enhancing safety, speeding up emergency response, and saving lives across the state’s local road system.
America's Transportation Awards 