$6.8M Seger Drive rebuild slated to start this fall

The posted speed limit along Seger Drive may suggest 45 mph, but actually traversing the gully-laden, patchwork of concrete in northeast Rapid City at such a speed is only for the brave and perhaps foolish.

"You may as well be driving across a field," 68-year-old Connie VanCamp, who lives at the Country Village mobile home park off Seger Drive, said last week. "It ruins our cars. Our suspensions are shot."

But a reprieve is in sightfor those wary of the road and its debilitating effects on their vehicles. The city is seeking bids for an estimated $6.85 million rebuild of Seger Drive between 143rd and Dyess avenues and hopes to have the project underway this fall.

Once completed, Seger Drive will have three lanes for traffic, a new curb and gutter, a 10-foot bike path on the north side of the road and street lights.

Public Works Director Terry Wolterstorff said the city has acquired enough right-of-way to construct a five-lane street but plans for such an expansion remain well into the future.

"We're going to be set up for all of that land to be developed and redeveloped," Wolterstorff said. "I wouldn't expect to see five lanes up there for a long, long time. The three lanes are going to be more than sufficient."

The rebuild was scheduled to start last year but the project stalled due to problems with acquiring land for public right-of-way to accommodate the reconstruction.

But higher-than-expected bids may throw another wrench in the works and stall the project yet again.

"Our other projects have been a little higher than we estimated, early on this spring," Wolterstorff said. "We will make the adjustments we need to make."

The rebuild will also install city water and sewer lines to the area, which is largely cluttered with junk yards aside from two trailer parks that rely on well water and sewage ponds.

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$6.8M Seger Drive rebuild slated to start this fall