South Dakota Highway 37

Infobox road
state=SD
marker_

highway_name=Highway 37
length_mi=242
established=1926
decommissioned=
direction_a=South
starting_terminus= Nebraska border
direction_b=North
ending_terminus= North Dakota border
cities=Tyndall, Tripp, Parkston, Mitchell, Forestburg, Huron, Groton
previous_type=SD
previous_route=36
next_type=SD
next_route=37A

South Dakota Highway 37 is a state route that runs across eastern South Dakota. It begins at the Nebraska border northeast of Niobrara, Nebraska, as a continuation of Nebraska Highway 14. It runs to the North Dakota border north of Hecla, where it continues as North Dakota Highway 1. It is 242 miles in length.

History

South Dakota 37 was in place by 1926, and largely has used the same alignment since. The only significant exception was in northeast South Dakota, where SD 37 originally went westward from Groton to Bath, then north via Columbia to Houghton, where it continued to Hecla. This segment was rerouted to the current alignment by 1929.

On the south end, the road ended at the Missouri River at Running Water. A seasonal ferry was in place to carry traffic across the river. A direct connection via bridge did not open until 1998.

In the early and mid 1930's, the segment between Huron and Tripp was co-numbered as U.S. Highway 281. This concurrency was dropped by 1936, when U.S. 281 was realigned further west.

The segment between Huron and Mitchell was upgraded to a 4-lane expressway, and was largely completed by 2004. A minor rerouting around the west end of Mitchell occurred, resulting in a 2-mile concurrency with Interstate 90.

List of Counties

South Dakota 37 currently travels through 7 counties, from south to north:
* Bon Homme County
* Hutchinson County
* Davison County
* Sanborn County
* Beadle County
* Spink County
* Brown County

Legal Definition

The route of SD 37 is defined in South Dakota Codified Laws § 31-4-158. [http://legis.state.sd.us/statutes/DisplayStatute.aspx?Type=Statute&Statute=31-4-158]

External resources

* [http://www.northernplainshighways.org/sdakota/sd31-60.html#SD-37 South Dakota Highways Page: Highways 31-60]