Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

Title II [28 CFR §35.150(d)] of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 requires public entities that employ more than 50 people to adopt a transition plan and to evaluate their compliance with the legislation. The State of South Dakota Department of Transportation (SDDOT) has reviewed and continues to review the accessibility of its facilities, programs, services, and activities by persons with disabilities with respect to the public right-of-way.

The department is implementing the improvements to the public right-of-way in phases. The first phase is devoted to achieving compliant curb ramps and pedestrian push buttons within the SDDOT's public right-of-way. The scope of the listed projects is limited to installing curb ramps where there are no ramps, improving accessibility of existing curb ramps, and ensuring pedestrian push buttons are accessible. The SDDOT will subsequently update its ADA Transition Plan to address the remaining pedestrian facilities such as walkways, obstructions or barriers in the pedestrian access routes, and other potential barriers to people with disabilities along pedestrian access routes in the SDDOT's public right-of-way.

A copy of the current ADA Transition Plan update and list of planned projects:

• 2009 ADA Transition Plan Update
• ADA Transition Plan Public ROW Project List
  This list of projects addresses priorities 1, 2, 5 & 8. Priorities are listed below.

SDDOT's ADA Transition Plan addresses the public right-of-way on the state highway system. The SDDOT assessed sidewalks, curb ramps, and intersections along state controlled right-of-way within urban areas. The SDDOT conducted various task force and stakeholder meetings to assist with the completion of the self-evaluation and the development of a transition plan. The SDDOT identified and prioritized eight primary areas of concern:

1. Installation of curb ramps where none currently exists and is necessary to provide access to existing walkways or pedestrian crosswalks.
2. Modification or installation of new pedestrian push buttons at existing pedestrian crossings where push buttons exist but are not currently accessible to disabled persons (i.e. height/distance barriers or lack of a traversable path to access the push button).
3. The removal of barriers in the public right-of-way or the modification/addition to the traversable area around obstructions.
4. Replacement or repair of walkways or sections of walkways that are no longer traversable due to structural deficiencies. A structural deficiency is a surface that is broken up, rough, or heaved, with changes in elevation of greater than a quarter of an inch.
5. Modification of existing non-compliant curb ramps.
6. Replacement of existing sidewalk in the public right-of-way that may still be traversable but is currently not ADA compliant.
7. Installation of walkways in the public right-of-way to provide access to state/local government offices and facilities, transportation, places of public accommodation, employers, and connections to walkways serving other areas.
8. Installation of detectable warning devices (truncated domes) to existing curb ramps that are structurally compliant.

Self-evaluation and assessment of the public rights-of-way data is available upon request from the SDDOT ADA Coordinator.