If you forget about the swampy south side of town, our city’s lowest spot is a block from the Brookings City & County Government Center.
That would be the Sixth Avenue viaduct, where work started a few days ago on a $400,000 facelift.
It is getting storm sewer work, sidewalks, curb, gutter, paving, and the installation of a safety arm to block traffic when the viaduct floods, as it is wont to do as evidenced by it filling to the brim in yesterday’s freshet.
But even after its refurbishing, it will continue to be a big duck pond headache for City Engineer Jackie Lanning.
Underpass flooding and other problems there have been concerns for about 100 years. Its storm sewer drains to the west, and it just can’t handle an overdose of water.
More than once, drivers unfamiliar with the depth of the water that can accumulate there end up swimming for their lives or camping out atop cars waiting for rescue.
When the Chicago & North Western Railroad (CNW) arrived in Brookings in the 1870s, it didn’t bother with viaducts and was frugal in even building street crossings.
It was in the early 1900s CNW decided to install a wooden-trussed Sixth Avenue underpass that the current railroad owners still claim.
The rationale for placing the viaduct on Sixth Avenue is unknown – and somewhat mystifying.
It may have been a public relations gesture. Back then, more than 30 trains passed through town daily. A city law and $50 fine discouraged trains from blocking a street for more than five minutes.
Perhaps to lessen the possibility of someone reporting trains blocking Main Avenue for more than five minutes, the viaduct two blocks east of Main Avenue was installed. Irate teamsters and later motorized vehicle drivers would be less likely to report five-minute violations because there was a way to get around, or under, the time-delinquent train.
The street under the viaduct is owned by the city. Drainage and road surface are our responsibilities.
The viaduct was originally just wide enough to accommodate one vehicle. It was a collection pond. When not holding water, it was a late-night mecca for hobos, ne’er-do-wells and drunks. Women and children afoot avoided the place.
A decent sized truck couldn’t squeeze through it.
By the late 1920s, Brookings residents had had enough.
A petition was handed to railroad officials calling for installation of a new and improved viaduct a block east on Seventh Avenue. It would be two lanes. There would be less excavation necessary for a dip under the tracks. It was an equal opportunity viaduct, halfway between busy Medary Avenue and Main Avenue.
What followed for a few years were contentious conversations with the railroad to do what the petition requested. The railroad studied and delayed.
Finally the city commission in early July 1934 started proceedings to compel CNW to build a satisfactory viaduct “where the street intersects with the rail line.”
That would be the Sixth Avenue viaduct. CNW complied, widening and deepening the viaduct. It built the concrete walls for the widened passageway that are still there today.
Even those new walls became an issue. They were perfect canvases for graffiti. It was embarrassing to everyone, especially students at the nearby elementary school that is now the Children’s Museum of South Dakota.
In 1997 fourth-grader Lynette Kerline and other members of her class obtained permission from the railroad to cover up the graffiti. They raised money and hired Black Hawk artist Sue Anderson to paint the walls with artwork.
Her work of 20 years ago has faded, but logos of SDSU and Brookings High School are still visible.
The viaduct is still the city’s lowest spot and will probably remain an albatross around our necks for decades to come.
If you’d like to comment, email the author at cfcecil@swiftel.net.
