Photos Show Progress on St. Croix River Crossing

The St. Croix Crossing is a joint project between the Minnesota and Wisconsin Departments of Transportation to replace the 80-year-old Stillwater Lift Bridge with a new four-lane bridge to connect expressways on both sides of the St. Croix River. When the new St. Croix Crossing is complete, vehicle traffic will be re-routed onto the new bridge and the existing Stillwater Lift Bridge will be converted to a bicycle and pedestrian facility.

The Loop Trail, a 4.7-mile bicycle and pedestrian trail, will cross the St. Croix River at the Stillwater Lift Bridge and on the new St. Croix Crossing bridge. Trails in Minnesota and Wisconsin will complete the loop and will connect to regional and local trail systems,

The Lift Bridge will still need to accommodate boat navigation with lifts. The St. Croix River Crossing project will be open to traffic by the fall of 2017, according to a news release.

Crews working on this project will also:

• Realign Highway 36 and Highway 95
• Build three-mile, four-lane connection to WIS Highway 64 from the new bridge
• Construct WIS Highway 35 overpass, located near the bridge, with the WIS Highway 35/County E interchange and the pedestrian/bike path
• Minimize impacts on the area's historic and natural resources

Cost

• Total project = $580 million to $646 million
• Minnesota potential cost share $340 to $375 million; Wisconsin potential cost share $240 to $271 million

History

The St. Croix Crossing has been decades in the making, partly because of the many historic, cultural and environmental features along the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway. There has been extensive community involvement on both sides of the river to determine whether a bridge should be built and to select the best location/alignment for the bridge.

Through the years, Minnesota and Wisconsin DOTs have created thousands of documents, drawings and plans for the project. You can find those documents and other extensive background information here.
One important document is the Annual Project Summary Report, which describes the actions taken by the Federal Highway Administration, MnDOT, WisDOT and other agencies during the past year to implement the St. Croix River Crossing Project and mitigation commitments

Project Photos

Photos via Minnesota Department of Transportation