Officials in Deadwood, South Dakota, recently met to address concerns about traffic and parking issues that will likely be caused by a lane widening project along Highway 85 in Deadwood, according to the Black Hills Pioneer.

Parking solutions along the construction route will likely include temporary lots and increased signage that will allow traffic to enter, exit and navigate parking lots for local businesses safely and efficiently during the lane widening process. Parking signs are important to help control the flow of traffic through parking lots, especially when lots are altered because of construction, as is the case in Deadwood.

Officials hope the project will ultimately make travel along the particularly busy stretch of highway 85 safer and smoother. While widening lanes will allow more vehicles to enter and exit parking lots comfortably, optimizing traffic signal timing is another way to minimize backups.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics, there are about 380,000 registered automobiles in the state of South Dakota, and approximately 76.6 percent of the state's population commute to work, alone, by car.