SOUTH DAKOTA STATE VETERANS CEMETERY
Location: Sioux Falls, SD
Project Size: 135,000 SF
Project Cost: $35 Million
Completion Date: 1999
The South Dakota Veterans Cemetery, a hallowed 60-acre resting place, is the first federally funded state-owned and operated veteran’s cemetery in South Dakota. Property for the cemetery was donated to the South Dakota Department of Veterans Affairs by the City of Sioux Falls.
Phase 1 funding, received from the National Cemetery Administration and the State of South Dakota, allowed construction of the main entrance, maintenance building, a 4,000 square foot administration building, scattering garden, committal service shelter, Avenue of Flags, a memorial wall, 610 pre-placed crypts, 999 in-ground cremains sites, and 660 columbarium niches, all in accordance with the United States Department of Veterans Affairs standards. Since there is no state residency requirement to be interred in the cemetery, it not only serves veterans throughout the state but around the country.
Heyer Engineering’s contribution consisted of collaborating with the design team to meet the strict and well-defined initiatives of the South Dakota Department of Veterans Affairs. We knew from the beginning that the project was on a very tight budget and without working together to find innovative ways to meet the design criteria, aesthetic standards, and iconic stature of the project it might not have happen.
Following are some of Heyer Engineering’s structural contributions:
Committal Shelter: The canopy was constructed with galvanized steel columns and vaulted beams with light gauge steel roof joists that span between. The backdrop of the shelter acts as an exterior storage space and was constructed with CMU block and standard wood roof trusses. Heyer also provided the connection tie information of the limestone veneer to the CMU walls. This structure was designed to be robust as well as aesthetically pleasing.
Administrative/Maintenance Facility: The building was constructed with a standard wood roof trusses with a detailed overhang to accommodate the architect’s aesthetic vision. The walls were framed with wood studs and cladded with quartzite stone. The Maintenance building was constructed as Pre-engineered Metal Building (PEMB). Heyer worked with the manufacturer to coordinate the link between buildings and associated concrete foundations.
Various concrete structures throughout the 60-acre project included concrete foundations for the Entry Wall, Memorial Wall, Columbarium, material bunkers for the Maintenance Yard, foundations for a variety of Flagpoles up to 70’-0” tall, and connection ties for the limestone/quartzite veneer located throughout the project.
The sacrifices veterans gave in the name of freedom will never be forgotten. Our greatest duty to the men and women who served is to never forget what they have done for each of us and our nation.
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