Rice Street in Sioux Falls Reopens to Traffic

Your life just got a whole lot easier if you use Rice Street for your daily commute or if you're a frequent user of Great Bear Recreation Park.

The city of Sioux Falls reopened the stretch of Rice Street between Cleveland Avenue and Timberline Avenue around 4:30 on Wednesday afternoon, November 30, after being closed for nearly two weeks.

An Ellis & Eastern Company train derailment on November 18, (2016) created the closure. The company was attempting to switch cars into the Rail to Road Transloading facility on Rice Street and, as they passed through the Rice Street crossing, three cars derailed.

The derailment caused significant damage to an area of Rice Street which made it impassable to the traveling public. To repair the street, road construction crews needed to weld new rail joints in the crossing, replace concrete crossing panels, and do needed asphalt paving work.

Sioux Falls City Engineer Chad Huwe thanked commuters for their patience in a statement released on Wednesday. According to Huwe, "We know the closure of this road was certainly not convenient. We, too, are extremely glad to have the road reopened and traffic back to normal in the northeast part of Sioux Falls."