Black Hills National Cemetery expands and becomes more efficient - KOTA Territory News

Black Hills National Cemetery expands and becomes more efficient

Anyone driving on I-90 in the Sturgis area over the past couple of months may have noticed construction in the Black Hills National Cemetery.
 
Director of the cemetery, Bill Haggerty says it's an expansion of 4,000 pre placed double crypts.

The expansion is not only so the National Cemetery can grow but be more efficient with their land use in the future.
 
"By putting these 4,000 double crypts in place before the need arises, that means when it's time to use one of them we only have to go down through 18 inches of soil, instead of digging a seven foot deep hole and putting a box into it."
 
Haggerty says being efficient is key when they see more than 750 burials a year, an average of about 2 per day. He says they expect to have it completed by April.