AVOID Route 44 Rapid City to Badlands, SD!!!!

[Homer Vista]

I just had the misfortune to drive some 10 miles of road construction consituting chip seal and bucking bronco undulations about 20 miles outside the Badlands that completely ruined the lower front facia of my new 2022 Cherokee from all of the stones and tar thrown up for 30 minutes, and I'm PISSED. Not to mention the (white) car is covered in TAR! When I pulled into the campground there were stones stuck everywhere. Even the bikes on the back have tar on them. The amount of incompetence of the DOT in SD is second to none. First, they chip seal a perfectly good road. Then they pave it. And both aspects leave BILLIONS of stones on the road. I can't even imagine how many vehicles have been permanently damaged because of this! I took dozen of pictures for insurance and am researching how to file a claim against the Dept of Safety, which I doubt is even possible. If I owned a swear jar it would have more in it than my 401K. To add insult to injury, the nearest car wash and hardware store (tar remover/WD) is 63 miles away. I'm livid! This by far is the absolute WORST road I've ever driven in my life! Which sucks because we absolutely loved SD up until today!

[fipntdot]

That's too bad. I drove that road several years ago and liked the drive.

[NJKris]

They did that chip and stone crap on a major county road here in NJ a couple years ago, unknown to me and I was driving my Corvette. It was the only road I could take to get home. I was only doing 15 mph, listening to sound of stones being thrown off my sticky summer-only tires, angry as hell, withe people passing me throwing up more stones. I wish tarring and feathering was still the practice these days for whoever made THAT decision! I feel your pain.

[MR.M]

Originally Posted by Homer Vista

I just had the misfortune to drive some 10 miles of road construction consituting chip seal and bucking bronco undulations about 20 miles outside the Badlands that completely ruined the lower front facia of my new 2022 Cherokee from all of the stones and tar thrown up for 30 minutes, and I'm PISSED. Not to mention the (white) car is covered in TAR! When I pulled into the campground there were stones stuck everywhere. Even the bikes on the back have tar on them. The amount of incompetence of the DOT in SD is second to none. First, they chip seal a perfectly good road. Then they pave it. And both aspects leave BILLIONS of stones on the road. I can't even imagine how many vehicles have been permanently damaged because of this! I took dozen of pictures for insurance and am researching how to file a claim against the Dept of Safety, which I doubt is even possible. If I owned a swear jar it would have more in it than my 401K. To add insult to injury, the nearest car wash and hardware store (tar remover/WD) is 63 miles away. I'm livid! This by far is the absolute WORST road I've ever driven in my life! Which sucks because we absolutely loved SD up until today!

Chip and seal is all over the west . with the thaw/freeze cycles they have chip seal keeps things going . It's a pain and have more then one broken windshield from this . so it's not just a SD thing but happens everywhere out west .Oh your insurance may cover it but you won't get anything from the state . I'm sure signs were up , go slow avoid broken windshields , do not pass etc ... in a few days the road will be back to normal