RAPID CITY, S.D. – Starting Friday, crews with the Rapid City Streets Division will begin sweeping every street on the more than 400-mile transportation system, deploying a fleet of 10 sweepers to clear debris accumulated during the winter season.

The initiative covers a vast network, much of which includes multiple lanes of traffic. City officials have set an ambitious timeline to complete all 21 designated routes by May 27.

Public interest in the cleanup remains a priority for the city. Like previous years, residents can monitor the progress of the sweeper crews in real time. The public can track the location of the sweepers by visiting the Streets Division page on the official city website.

The scale of the operation is significant. Last May, crews covered 4,122 miles and logged nearly 265 hours of driving time to collect 385.5 tons of material. On an annual basis, Rapid City sweepers typically remove more than 2,000 tons of gravel, dirt, rock, and litter, including bottles, cigarette butts, and paper items.

“Our city sweepers may move along at slow speeds but they move tons of debris off city streets each year,” said City Streets Superintendent Jesse Rieb. “Like last year, the crews are up for the challenge. They are looking forward to attacking every street in Rapid City and collecting debris left over from the winter season.”

For safety and efficiency, crews operate in residential neighborhoods during daylight hours and move to main line areas at night to minimize traffic interactions. The material collected is transported to a detention area on Steele Avenue to dry before being moved to the Rapid City Landfill, where it is repurposed as cover.

City officials advise drivers to use caution when approaching or passing the slow-moving equipment and to stay alert for oncoming traffic within active work zones.