Before South Dakota DOT moves forward on reconstructing Hwy. 85, it should grant residents more time to comment
I was only recently made aware of the South Dakota Department of Transportation’s plan to reconstruct Highway 85 from Cheyenne Crossing to the Wyoming line. The public that uses and cherishes this stretch of highway needs more time to study this plan.
The highway follows a stream that has figured in my family’s life since the 1930s. As adolescents, my parents swam where a primitive stream still tumbles down shadowy ravines, largely out of sight of motorists.
Though only occasionally glimpsed, this section of the stream so closely hews to the highway it will be irretrievably damaged by reconstruction. So too will the clearly visible limestone outcrops and Ponderosa forest descending right down to the highway on the other side.
All along the highway, as the stream descends from open meadow and marshland into primitive forests and deep ravines, there are informal turnouts that give access to stream, meadow and forest. I’ve often used these pullouts for an hour or two of peace, quieted by the clear running water and the contemplation of darting headwater trout too small to be attractive to the angler.
I’ve also spent many an hour at pullouts higher up, where the stream spreads broadly, forming marshes in the lush meadows, its narrow channels threading their way through garden-like swaths of Forget-Me-Nots.
These unpaved pullouts may disappear with reconstruction, or more likely get converted into heavily curated and artificial visitor destinations, reminiscent of the fates of Roughlock Falls, Bridal Veil Falls (or nearby Spearfish Falls, seen above in an 1890 public domain photo posted on wikimedia commons) and Savoy Intake further down Spearfish Canyon.
Highway 85 from Cheyenne Crossing to the Limestone Plateau at the Wyoming border passes through an intimate natural world that still whispers of a less hurried past, a past where nature was a respected companion, not a photo-op travel destination or a swiftly passing scene along a busy commercial corridor.
The DOT would, in my opinion, be wise to give us more time to discuss the proper preservation of this endangered, treasured place before it inadvertently bulldozes its true value out of existence.
Though the public comment period has expired, interested parties may find more information at: https://dot.sd.gov/projects-studies/projects/public-meetings#listItemLink_1948/
You might also be able to comment and/or get more information by contacting: Senior Transportation Engineer / SD Office Lead Shareholder, 600 E. 7th St. Sioux Falls, SD 57103, 605.777.1973
Addendum (1/9/24): Storsve just informed us that the DOT comment period has been extended into February. Go the link above if you want to comment.
Harold Storsve is a writer, photographer, artist and antipoverty worker originally from Lead. He has lived and worked extensively in South Dakota and the West and has resided in Interior since 2012.
