Haakon, Hand Counties among recipients of engineering grants from state BIG program

Haakon and Hand Counties are among the successful applicants in the most recently approved group of Bridge Improvement Grants– or BIG grants– in South Dakota.

The state Transportation Commission gave the preliminary go-ahead to the distribution of 24 grants covering approximately $1.5 million (Aug. 28, 2025) in engineering costs. Haakon County received two grants, Hand County received one.

For this round of grants, SDDOT received 44 applications worth $3.2 million. To date, the BIG program has awarded $182 million in grants to local governments, including the allocations made this year.

State Transportation Secretary Joel Jundt says each year, $7 million from license plate and non-commercial vehicle fees is dedicated to the BIG fund. In addition, he says, SDDOT sets aside $8 million in state highway funds each year to make a total of $15 million available for BIG.

In order to be eligible for a BIG grant, a county must impose a wheel tax and must have a County Highway and Bridge Improvement Plan. The plan must provide details about the county’s proposed highway and bridge improvement projects for the next five years. Local governments are required to pay a minimum of 20% matching funds and have three years to expend the grant award.

This round of grant recipients are: Beadle (3), Bon Homme (4), Deuel (1), Grant (1), Haakon (2), Hand (1), Lincoln (1), Marshall (3), Moody (2), Roberts (3) and Tripp (3).

The next round of BIG program grants are for the Preservation and the Rehabilitation/Replacement categories. Those applications are due Jan. 2, 2026.

For more information, contact Doug Kinniburgh at 605-773-4284.