With Delegation Support, Brookings Receives Critical Infrastructure Grant

Pat Powers

With Delegation Support, Brookings Receives Critical Infrastructure Grant

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) today applauded the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT’s) decision to award the City of Brookings $18.7 million in critical infrastructure funding under the Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) program. Today’s announcement follows requests from the delegation to DOT Secretary Elaine Chao for the project’s funding.

“With the help of the infrastructure funding awarded by DOT, the City of Brookings will be able to move forward with this important project, which will relieve congestion, improve safety, and spur economic growth,” said Thune. “I want to congratulate the Brookings community and its leaders for advocating for this funding, and I’d like to thank Secretary Chao for recognizing how important projects like these are to South Dakota communities.”

“Thanks to Secretary Chao for her commitment to investing in infrastructure projects in South Dakota,” said Rounds. “This BUILD grant will help relieve congestion along an important intersection in the city of Brookings, allowing for easier traffic flow in the area. We’re grateful for all state and local officials who work to make sure our roads and highways are maintained so we can get where we need to go safely and efficiently.” 

“Brookings and the surrounding communities have seen tremendous growth over the last several years,” said Johnson.“This BUILD Grant will allow Brookings to continue on a path of economic success and foster opportunity for the I-29 corridor.”

The City of Brookings plans to use the BUILD funding to construct an interchange at the intersection of Interstate 29 and 20th Street. This project would allow for an additional arterial road to provide proper traffic flow between the residential and commercial sectors of the city, taking pressure off of the 6th Street interchange, which has become increasingly congested. It will also provide more convenient access to I-29 for southern Brookings as the area continues to grow.

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10 thoughts on “With Delegation Support, Brookings Receives Critical Infrastructure Grant”

  2. I’m confused. Why wouldn’t the private economic growth that this program will supposedly increase be responsible for funding the project. Why are we begging uncle Sam for more handouts, isn’t our economy and the free market enough?

    When did more government spending become something republicans asked for and cheered once granted?

    1. Tu quoque, or the appeal to hypocrisy, is a fallacy intended to discredit an argument by alleging the speaker has failed to act consistently.

      Tu quoque follows the pattern:
      Person A says X.
      Person B calls A’s actions or claims inconsistent or hypocritical.
      Therefore, X is false.

      Tu quoque is a fallacy because a speaker’s moral character/actions are irrelevant to the logic of the argument and/or the truth of the claim. This fallacy is often used as a red herring tactic; it is a special case of the ad hominem fallacy — a category of fallacies wherein a claim is rejected on the basis of the identity of the person presenting or supporting it.

      1. So pointing out the hypocrisy that is the SDGOP being against “government handouts” unless said handouts benefit them is a logical fallacy?

        Weird, on face just seems like the truth, I must be reel dum.

  3. They have needed another interchange for south Brookings for a long time. So many people live west of I-29 and work east of it that the congestion at the 6th street interchange was awful until traffic lights were installed.

    1. It’s going to be a lot safer giving people another route to those industrial areas such as Daktronics. That line out onto the interstate every AM isn’t the safest. There’s a lot of us who skip 6th street entirely, and use the Sinai/Elkton Exit for that reason.

      I suspect a new interchange is also going to cause development to (further) explode on my end of town.

      1. Pat, taking all that as true… why’s congestion on 6th Street in Brookings it a national concern and something for taxpayers not just from the other side of South Dakota but for all 49 other states to pay for, versus a purely local matter for Brookings and to deal with?

        1. It’s congestion on the interstate, as they try to enter 6th street.

          And if it didn’t matter for everyone, and roads were kept it to parochial interests, we probably wouldn’t have an interstate system.

          By the time it’s built, I prob won’t be in Brookings anymore, but I think it’s good for the community.

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