For many, the Black Hills of South Dakota is a must-visit riding destination, and with good reason. It's a gorgeous part of the US, with some unbelievable scenery that's difficult to fully convey without actually being there. Tourism is absolutely massive in the area, and it's no surprise why once you see it.
And of course, we can't talk about the Black Hills without also talking about Sturgis, which brings hundreds of thousands of riders to the area every August.
In 2023, the South Dakota Department of Transportation counted a grand total of 458,161 vehicles in attendance throughout the 10 days of the rally. That's down slightly from the five-year, 10-day average of 498,282 vehicles, but definitely still a lot of vehicles any way you slice it.
Sturgis is, of course, far from the only major tourist draw in the area. There's also Deadwood. It's also where what's now known as Mount Rushmore is located, carved into the face of the sacred mountains that native Lakota from the area called Tunkasila Sakpe Paha, the Six Grandfathers Mountain.
These are things the South Dakota Department of Transportation doesn't take lightly. Still, there's no escaping the fact that the two-lane highway known as US 385 is pretty much the only north-south highway running right through the central Black Hills area.
Nor can anyone riding in the area escape the fact that a 15-mile stretch of US 385 will, in segments, be under construction from May 2024 through the beginning of 2027.
Yes, that's not a typo. That's three years of construction.
It's being done in segments, and there will be an available detour. But that detour is about a 50-mile loop due to the road layout in the area, and one that loops around through Rapid City.
Do you know what else there will be if you choose not to take the 50-mile detour? Gravel diversions consisting of lots and lots of loose gravel.
In fact, on the official SD US 385 Project Updates page, text about the current conditions of the road at the time of writing reads,"Phase 1 construction area (Pennington-Lawrence County Line to the north end of Pactola Dam) will be a loose gravel roadway until surfacing is completed in late 2025."
It goes on to mention that flaggers will be deployed from Highway 44 to the Pennington-Lawrence County Line, as well as from Highway 44 to the North Boat Ramp. A contractor will be working on Saturdays until Phase One of the project is complete, as well, because this is such a massive undertaking.
Why Is This Construction Such A Major Deal?
It's a $72M federally-funded project, designed to increase safety on US Highway 385. The shoulders on this highway are practically nonexistent, and the majority of crashes involve vehicles running off the road. This project will widen the shoulders, add turn lanes, and also smooth out some of the sharper curves in the name of enhanced road safety, a South Dakota DOT engineer told the Black Hills Pioneer.
It's worth noting that SD DOT will pause this project during the entire run of Sturgis 2024. However, riders who roll down the affected segments of US 385 through the Black Hills will still have no choice but to ride on loose gravel.
SD DOT says that it will be applying magnesium chloride to the gravel to keep the dust level down, which is a common use for the solution. If that name sounds familiar, you might also know it as a popular de-icing solution for roadways in the winter.
Unfortunately, magnesium chloride is also detrimental to plant life, frequently damaging and killing roadside plants and trees, particularly those that are downhill from the area where it's spread due to runoff after precipitation events in the area.
Of more immediate concern to riders, though, is what magnesium chloride does to metal, like the metal found all over most of the motorcycles (and other vehicles) that visit each year during Sturgis.
It's corrosive, point blank. So even if you're an expert off-road rider and you're not fazed at all by riding on gravel, you're going to want to take a little extra time to clean off your baby as soon as possible after riding through.
For newer riders or riders with little (or no) off-road experience, the gravel situation will pose an additional challenge, especially during the Sturgis rally. The annual Mayor's Ride that's usually held during the event has purposely rerouted away from US 385 in 2024 for that reason.
If you or someone you know plans to attend, stay alert and ride safe. And keep in mind that this project isn't going to end any time soon.
