Project Profile: Mount Rushmore Road Corridor, City of Rapid City, South Dakota

Mount Rushmore Road, or 8th Street, is part of Highway 16 in Rapid City. It is the traditional route connecting Rapid City to Mt. Rushmore National Memorial. Combined with the Interstate 190 spur, this corridor leads travelers directly from Interstate 90 to the Black Hills region via Downtown Rapid City, and remains a key business and service district for both residents and tourists. Mt. Rushmore Road (US Highway 16) is the primary corridor to Mount Rushmore and is used by 30,000 vehicles daily.

In 2007, the City began plans to make the road economically healthy, efficient, and aesthetically appealing. After completing a corridor study in 2009, the City designated $2 million for revitalizations that would include adding a median and removing on-street parking, among other changes.

Approved in 2010 by the Planning Commission and Rapid City Council, the Mount Rushmore Road Corridor Development Plan presented a community-based program, initiated by the city and stakeholders, to re-imagine this important environment and consider its potential as an important asset well into the future.
The Development Plan presented a conceptual design plan for the reconstruction of Mount Rushmore Road and the development/redevelopment of property within the development plan area. It focused on an area comprising four City blocks on each side of the Mount Rushmore Road right-of-way beginning at US Hwy 44/Omaha Street and proceeding southerly to Cathedral Drive/Fairmont Boulevard.

The properties covered under the plan included existing residential and commercial land uses. The plan also included a future land-use plan for the corridor and surrounding neighborhoods, and corridor improvements that provide adequate infrastructure to meet the expected future traffic and development demands. In addition, the plan included project elements to facilitate and encourage pedestrian and non-motorized travel within the corridor, and streetscape and landscape improvements within the corridor that would be thematically consistent with existing improvements in Rapid City’s central business district.

This plan recommended reconstructing Mt. Rushmore Road from south to north, based on the South Dakota Department of Transportation’s (SDDOT) potential improvement schedule. The size and extent of each phase was to be determined by City and (SD-DOT) policy and budget constraints.

With help from the (SD-DOT), the City selected Upper Plains Contracting to complete the projects and the first phase of construction began in 2014. The reconstruction was carried out in multiple phases: first phase of Mount Rushmore Road, from Tower Road to St. Patrick Street in 2014, and the second phase from St. Patrick Street to Kansas City Street in 2015.

Improvements along the Mount Rushmore corridor improved transportation flow and safety for vehicle, bicycle, and pedestrian traffic. The City created a more desirable atmosphere for current businesses and prospective developments.

$51.6 million (phase I $12M, phase II $9.6M, phase III $24M)

• Federal and Private funds

• Upper Plains Contracting
• RDG Planning & Design
• Kadrmas, Lee & Jackson

The planning for improving the Mount Rushmore Road Corridor started in 2007, the first phase on construction was initiated in 2014, and the project was completed in 2018.

• Use of Complete transportation/complete streets to accommodate all transportation modes safely and efficiently, including motor vehicles, transit, and pedestrian and bicycle transportation.
• Improved functional safety through use of Complete transportation concepts such as rationalizing access points, controlling left turn movements, and reducing conflicts between different traffic streams.
• Mixed uses on development sites and facilities that encourage use of non-motorized transportation modes for short trips and creates a more sustainable corridor.
• Mutually reinforcing neighborhood connections between a multi-use corridor and surrounding neighborhoods to filter out undesirable commercial traffic, minimize visual and functional incompatibilities, prevent operational effects such as lighting and noise, among others.

• Argus Leader – Second phase of Mount Rushmore Road project draws low bid
• National Park Service – American History, Alive in Stone
• Mount Rushmore National Memorial
• Rapid City – No. 10CA018 - Amendment to the Comprehensive Plan to adopt the Mount Rushmore Road Corridor Development Plan
• South Dakota Department of Transportation – Mount Rushmore Road Corridor Development Plan

Sally Mayberry
(605) 574-2523
Sally_Mayberry@nps.gov