U.S. Highway 16A (US 16A) is a scenic
United States Numbered Highway
The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these hi ...
. It is an
alternate route
An official alternate route is a special route in the United States that provides an alternate alignment for a highway. They are loop roads and found in many road systems in the United States including the U.S. Highway system and various state a ...
for
US 16. It splits from US 16 in the
Black Hills
The Black Hills ( lkt, Ȟe Sápa; chy, Moʼȯhta-voʼhonáaeva; hid, awaxaawi shiibisha) is an isolated mountain range rising from the Great Plains of North America in western South Dakota and extending into Wyoming, United States. Black ...
of the southwestern part of the U.S. state of
South Dakota
South Dakota (; Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux Native American tribes, who comprise a large porti ...
. The highway's western terminus is an
intersection with US 16,
US 385, and
South Dakota Highway 89 (SD 89) in
Custer
George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 – June 25, 1876) was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars.
Custer graduated from West Point in 1861 at the bottom of his class, b ...
. The eastern terminus is at an
interchange with US 16 called
Keystone Wye south of
Rapid City
Rapid City ( lkt, link=no, Mni Lúzahaŋ Otȟúŋwahe; "Swift Water City") is the second most populous city in South Dakota and the county seat of Pennington County. Named after Rapid Creek, where the settlement developed, it is in western So ...
. Portions of US 16A are known as the Iron Mountain Road, named after
the peak it summits.
Route description
left, Mount Rushmore seen from a tunnel on US 16A
The route passes through
Keystone, the
Mount Rushmore National Memorial
Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a national memorial centered on a colossal sculpture carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore (Lakota: ''Tȟuŋkášila Šákpe'', or Six Grandfathers) in the Black Hills near Keystone, South Dakota ...
, the Norbeck Wildlife Management Area and
Black Elk Wilderness within
Black Hills National Forest
Black Hills National Forest is located in southwestern South Dakota and northeastern Wyoming, United States. The forest has an area of over 1.25 million acres (5,066 km²) and is managed by the Forest Service. Forest headquarters are locate ...
, and
Custer State Park
Custer State Park is a South Dakota State Park and wildlife reserve in the Black Hills, United States. The park is South Dakota's largest and first state park, named after Lt. Colonel George Armstrong Custer. The park covers an area of over of v ...
(including
State Game Lodge and
Legion Lake), before rejoining the parent highway.
US 16A is famous for its scenic, one-lane tunnels aligned to frame the faces on Mount Rushmore, its "
pigtail bridges", and its sections of divided highway but with single (and narrow) lanes on each roadway. It is the only route which can be used to drive through Custer State Park without having to pay an entrance fee for the park, provided the traveler does not stop in the park.
The route includes most of the tunnels on the South Dakota state highway system, including the only three-lane tunnel in the state, just north of Keystone. Part of the highway is also a boundary of the
Black Elk Wilderness. The Iron Mountain portion of the road is not maintained in the winter. The road, like several other
scenic roads in the Black Hills, was originally laid out by Governor
Peter Norbeck
Peter Norbeck (August 27, 1870December 20, 1936) was an American politician from South Dakota. After serving two terms as the ninth Governor of South Dakota, Norbeck was elected to three consecutive terms as a United States Senator. Norbeck was ...
, specifically to create a very scenic, slow-speed road for tourists. The section of US 16A from
SD 89 to
SD 244 is known as the Peter Norbeck Memorial Byway in honor of the governor.
At the highest point of the byway, on the summit of
Iron Mountain, there is a small memorial to Governor Norbeck.
History
An older road through the
Badlands
Badlands are a type of dry terrain where softer sedimentary rocks and clay-rich soils have been extensively eroded."Badlands" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 47. They are characterized by steep slopes, m ...
of
South Dakota
South Dakota (; Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux Native American tribes, who comprise a large porti ...
(currently designated as
SD 240) was designated
US 16A between 1944 and 1980.
Major intersections
References
External links
The South Dakota Highways Page: Highways 1 to 30{{Black Hills, South Dakota
16A (South Dakota)
16A
Black Hills
A (South Dakota)
Transportation in Custer County, South Dakota
Transportation in Pennington County, South Dakota
Mount Rushmore