Rural Access Infrastructure Fund Program
The South Dakota Legislature created the Rural Access Infrastructure Fund to help townships and counties repair and replace culverts and bridges on township and county secondary roads. Six legislative bills passed in 2021 – 2024 define RAIF:
|
Year |
Bill |
Effect |
|
2021 |
HB1259 |
Created RAIF; allocated $3M in FY22 to local agencies to inventory their culverts and small bridges; allocated $3M in FY23 for improvements to culverts and small bridges; defined eligibility requirements for agencies, roads, culverts and small bridges, and improvements; defined requirements for improvement plans and grant applications |
|
|
HB1070 |
Clarified provisions of HB1259 and adjusted dates for improvement plans and grant applications |
|
HB1306 |
Allocated $25M ($8.33M in FY23, FY24, and FY25) to local agencies for improvements to culverts and small bridges |
|
|
2023 |
SB145 |
Reduced the mill levy required for townships to be eligible for RAIF |
|
2024 |
SB124 |
Made culverts and small bridges on Minimum Maintenance Roads eligible for RAIF |
|
SB188 |
Requires funding currently authorized by RAIF to be spent or obligated no later than June 30, 2029 |
Important ANNUAL Dates and Deadlines
|
May 31 |
The South Dakota Department of Transportation determines the number of eligible culverts and small bridges in each county, based on the content of the South Dakota Small Structure Inventory. Counties and townships should ensure that their inventories are accurate and up to date. |
|
August 1 |
The South Dakota Department of Revenue distributes RAIF funding to counties, in proportion to the number of eligible culverts and small bridges in the county |
|
August 31 |
Local agencies must submit 5-Year Small Improvement Plans to their county |
|
October 31 |
Local agencies must submit funding applications to their county |
|
January 15 |
County boards of commissioners must decide which funding applications to approve |
Resources
The South Dakota Department of Transportation provides several resources to help counties and townships comply with the legislative requirements and take advantage of RAIF funding.
- The Small Structure Inventory Handbook defines how counties and townships are to inventory their culverts and small bridges. It is also available upon request as a spiral-bound booklet for field use.
- The Small Structure Inventory is a geographic database that stores all the culvert and small bridge inventory data reported by counties and townships.
- The Rural Access Infrastructure Funding Guide describes the RAIF program in detail, including the procedures counties and townships must follow to develop 5-Year Small Structure Improvement Plans and to prepare and approve RAIF Funding Applications.
|
Section |
Content |
| Introduction |
Document purpose and content; training and resources. |
| Rural Access Infrastructure Funding |
Enabling legislation and statutes; funding distributions; agency and structure eligibility; annual calendar |
| Small Structure Inventory |
Processes for collecting, maintaining, and retrieving inventory data |
| Small Structure Improvement Plans |
5-Year Improvement Plan requirements and guidance |
| Funding Applications |
Funding application requirements and guidance |
| RAIF Template Spreadsheet |
Instructions for using the RAIF_Templates spreadsheet to verify inventory data and to produce documents required for improvement plans and grant applications |
|
Appendices |
Rural Access Infrastructure Funding statutes and legislation; Glossary; Small Structure Inventory items; cross-section areas of standard culvert shapes |
- RAIF_Templates is a Microsoft Excel workbook that helps local agencies examine their inventory data, produce condition reports for individual culverts and small bridges, and generate the documents required to prepare 5-Year Small Structure Improvement Plans and RAIF Funding Applications.
For Help
|
SD County Highway Superintendents Association |
|
|
SD Association of Towns and Townships |
|
|
SD Association of County Commissioners |
|
|
SD Local Transportation Assistance Program |
|
|
SD Department of Transportation Geographic Information Systems Coordinator |
|
|
SD Department of Transportation Local Government Assistance Program |
|
|
Author of the Small Structure Inventory Handbook, Rural Access Infrastructure Funding Guide, and RAIF_Templates.xlsm workbook |
