South Dakota Highway 73
Encyclopedia
South Dakota Highway 73 is a state route that runs across western South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...

. It begins at the Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....

 border north of Merriman, Nebraska
Merriman, Nebraska
Merriman is a village in Cherry County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 118 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Merriman is located at ....

, as a continuation of Nebraska Highway 61
Nebraska Highway 61
Nebraska Highway 61 is a highway in western Nebraska. It is a north–south highway with a length of . The southern terminus of Nebraska Highway 61 is at the Kansas border south of Benkelman, where the highway continues south as K-161...

. It runs to the North Dakota
North Dakota
North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....

 border, where it continues as North Dakota Highway 49. It is 250 miles (402 kilometers) in length.

History

When designated in the 1920s, South Dakota 73 only consisted of the segment from Faith
Faith, South Dakota
Faith is a city in Meade County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 421 at the 2010 census. Sue, the most complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton known, was discovered about 15 miles north and east of Faith in December 1990.-Geography:...

 (U.S. Highway 212) to Lemmon
Lemmon, South Dakota
Lemmon is a city in Perkins County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 1,227 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Lemmon is located at ....

 (U.S. Highway 12). The remainder of the route was unnumbered.

Around 1935, SD 73 was extended south from Faith, absorbing what had been a portion of South Dakota Highway 24
South Dakota Highway 24
South Dakota Highway 24 was a state route located in west central and northwest South Dakota.-History:When initially established in the mid 1920's, the western terminus of South Dakota 24 was at Whitewood, west of Sturgis. It traveled east along what is now South Dakota Highway 34 to near Marcus,...

 to near Plainview, then southeast via a new route to Philip
Philip, South Dakota
Philip is a city in Haakon County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 779 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Haakon County.-Geography:Philip is located at ....

. From there, it was concurrent with U.S. Highway 16 to Kadoka
Kadoka, South Dakota
Kadoka is a city in Jackson County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 654 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Jackson County.-Geography:Kadoka is located at ....

 then southward along what had been South Dakota Highway 63. It continued south to the Nebraska border south of Martin
Martin, South Dakota
Martin is a city in Bennett County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 1,071 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Bennett County.-Geography:Martin is located at ....

, after sharing an alignment with U.S. Highway 18. Except for minor route straightening and a new concurrency with Interstate 90
Interstate 90
Interstate 90 is the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It is the northernmost coast-to-coast interstate, and parallels US 20 for the most part. Its western terminus is in Seattle, at Edgar Martinez Drive S. near Safeco Field and CenturyLink Field, and its eastern terminus is in...

, this route has not changed since.

Around 1979, the northern terminus was extended east along U.S. 12 to Thunder Hawk, where it met up with a new road to link with ND 49.

List of counties

South Dakota 73 currently travels through 7 counties, from south to north:
  • Bennett County
    Bennett County, South Dakota
    As of the 2010 census there were 3,431 people in Bennett County, in 1,090 households . The racial and ethnic composition of the population was 33.3% non-Hispanic white, 0.1% black or African American, 60.4% non-Hispanic Native American, 1.1% Hispanic Native American, 0.4% Asian, 0.1% Pacific...

  • Jackson County
    Jackson County, South Dakota
    As of the census of 2000, there were 2,930 people, 945 households, and 675 families residing in the county. The population density was 2 people per square mile . There were 1,173 housing units at an average density of 1 per square mile...

  • Haakon County
    Haakon County, South Dakota
    As of the census of 2000, there were 2,196 people, 870 households, and 620 families residing in the county. The population density was 1 person per square mile . There were 1,002 housing units at an average density of 1 per square mile . The racial makeup of the county was 96.40% White,...

  • Ziebach County
    Ziebach County, South Dakota
    As of the census of 2000, there were 2,519 people, 741 households, and 594 families residing in the county. The population density was 1.3 people per square mile . There were 879 housing units at an average density of 0.4 per square mile...

  • Meade County
    Meade County, South Dakota
    As of the census of 2000, there were 24,253 people, 8,805 households, and 6,700 families residing in the county. The population density was 7 people per square mile . There were 10,149 housing units at an average density of 3 per square mile...

  • Perkins County
    Perkins County, South Dakota
    As of the census of 2000, there were 3,363 people, 1,429 households, and 937 families residing in the county. The population density was 1.2 people per square mile . There were 1,854 housing units at an average density of 0.6 per square mile...

  • Corson County
    Corson County, South Dakota
    As of the census of 2000, there were 4,181 people, 1,271 households, and 949 families residing in the county. The population density was 1.7 people per square mile . There were 1,536 housing units at an average density of 0.6 per square mile...


Legal Definition

The route of SD 73 is defined in South Dakota Codified Laws § 31-4-176.http://legis.state.sd.us/statutes/DisplayStatute.aspx?Type=Statute&Statute=31-4-176

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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