PIERRE, SD (KELO AM) – Gov. Dennis Daugaard today announced that the state will partner with Dakota & Iowa Railroad to invest $7.3 million to upgrade the Sioux Valley Line in southeast South Dakota.
The Sioux Valley Line repair project will be funded by $5.1 million in grants and loans from the state Railroad Board; a $1.8 million federal grant; $300,000 from the Dakota & Iowa Railroad; and a $100,000 grant from the South Dakota Department of Transportation.
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“I want to thank Dakota & Iowa Railroad for making this project a possibility,” said Gov. Daugaard. “Their investment and ongoing commitment will go a long way in giving South Dakota farmers better access to the market.”
The project will include upgrading nine bridges on the line, which will allow the line to handle 286,000-pound rail cars. In addition, a section of track that is currently in an area subject to landslides will be moved.
Also at today’s Rail Board meeting in Sioux Falls, the Governor announced that a total of $56 million in public and private funds will go toward improving the RCP&E, the Britton Line and the MRC.
The Governor also announced today that $4 million in Future Funds will be available to match other South Dakota rail investments made by private entities. Interested parties should prepare proposals and submit them to the state Department of Transportation.
The map of the proposed upgrade can be found here.