St. Croix River Crossing Bridge Is 'Rare Win': Report

Editor's note: For a live stream of the St. Croix River Crossing bridge dedication ceremony, scroll to the bottom of the article.

WASHINGTON COUNTY, MN — The St. Croix Crossing bridge connecting Oak Park Heights, Minnesota to St. Joseph, Wisconsin is garnering national recognition as it prepares to open Wednesday. One of the nations's oldest and most well known newspapers is calling the project exemplary for its cooperation between two states with plenty of differences.

"The bridge connecting Minnesota and Wisconsin will open Wednesday in a rare win for cooperation in the often-contentious realm of cross-border infrastructure," the Wall Street Journal reported this week.

The project will end up costing around $646 million, with both states chipping in. The new bridge required assistance from Washington, D.C.

In 2012, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar led a major bipartisan push to secure unanimous consent and pass her St. Croix River Crossing Authorization Act, which made the project possible and brought over 30 years of debate and delay to an end.

The effort ensured project received more than $225 million in federal funding. (For more local news, click here to sign up for real-time news alerts and newsletters from Minnesota Patch, click here to find your local Minnesota Patch. Also, follow us on Facebook, and if you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

“Today marks an important step forward for people in Minnesota and Wisconsin, Klobuchar said in a statement. "Getting this bridge built was a total team effort that took years of careful planning and legislative effort from leaders on both sides of the river, from both parties."

The dedication ceremony to mark the opening of bridge will be held Wednesday.

Image via Office of Sen. Amy Klobuchar