News Stories

South Dakota’s snowplow naming extravaganza ends Nov. 30 - KOTA - 11/24/2023

November 28, 2023
RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) - Put your creative hat on. It’s time for the South Dakota Department of Transportation’s annual snowplow naming contest. “Betty White-Out,” won the spot on a snowplow’s windshield for the Rapid City area in 2022. This statewide contest seems to bring out the ingeniousness of the area. In the 2022 statewide match-up, “West River Shiver” made it to the finals but fell to “Blizzard Buster” from the Mitchell region. Be prepared for the winter weather with these reminders.Rea...

Dakotas Snowplow Naming Contests in Full Swing - AASHTO Journal 11/03/2023

November 06, 2023
Snowplow naming contests are in full swing in both North and South Dakota this month. The North Dakota Department of Transportation said state residents can help name a snowplow via its 2023 ‘Name-A-Plow’ Contest through November 20. Meanwhile, the South Dakota Department of Transportation is accepting entries to its fourth annual snowplow naming contest through November 30. “We hope people submit their best names and then download the ND Roads app so they can be up to date on winter weather in ...

SD’s winter highway plan approved just in time - Keloland 10/26/2023

October 27, 2023
PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — South Dakota’s first road closure of the winter season came Thursday morning on I-90 in the Wall area. A few hours later, so did approval of the state Department of Transportation’s winter highway maintenance plan. The South Dakota Transportation Commission gave its official green light. Among changes, DOT will start officially closing some routes that aren’t interstate highways when weather warrants. There’s also a plan in the works to let counties and tribal governments l...

South Dakota Railroad Board: $58.8MM Allocated Through STC Grant Program - Railway Age 10/25/2023

October 25, 2023
South Dakota Railroad Board: $58.8MM Allocated Through STC Grant Program Written by Carolina Worrell, Senior Editor “The STC grant funds are dedicated to provide the financial resources to improve South Dakota’s freight railroad infrastructure, which is vital to the continued growth and development of our economy,” said Joel Jundt, Secretary South Dakota Department of Transportation (SDDOT). South Dakota Railroad Board members on Oct. 18 approved grant request applications for several projects f...

SDDOT is already prepared for possibility of snow - KEVN 10/25/2023

October 25, 2023
RAPID CITY, S.D. (KEVN) - With the possibility of snow later this week, the South Dakota Department of Transportation (SDDOT) is watching conditions to make sure they are prepared for any amount of snow we could accumulate. Preparations for this started as early as the last snowfall last Spring. This included resupplying materials, working on equipment, and making sure everything is running correctly. “Our crew here does other tasks than plowing snow. So, right now were out mowing and mowing is ...