AASHTO Journal, 11 September 2015
The Minnesota and Wisconsin Departments of Transportation said Sept. 4 that the completion date for the bridge portion of the St. Croix Crossing project near Stillwater, Minn., will be delayed past the autumn of 2016 and into 2017.
“This is a very complex engineering project,” said MnDOT Commissioner Charles Zelle. “This is only the second major bridge of its type built in the U.S., and the methods of construction are taking longer than anticipated.”
The two state DOTs had planned to open the bridge to traffic over the St. Croix River in the fall of 2016, connecting Oak Park Heights, Minn., and St. Joseph, Wis.
MnDOT, WisDOT and the Lunda/Ames Joint Venture to build it are currently working together to produce a new schedule, but Zelle said the work will continue into 2017.
News reports put the overall project cost at $626 million, including about $333 million for the bridge superstructure.
“We will announce the new completion date before the end of this year,” Zelle said. “While we know that residents of this region want the bridge to be open for traffic as soon as possible, our highest priority is to complete the project safely and to the high standards we’ve set for it.”
He also said related roadwork on the Minnesota side on Highway 36 is complete and that Hwy 64 roadwork on the Wisconsin side of the project is on schedule.
The project’s website includes animation videos showing how those roadways will be reconfigured to and from the bridge, as well as a video discussing the “extradosed” bridge construction methods.
The site includes information on paddle-boat trips to view the bridge construction as it progresses across the river.
Those tours “allow area residents and visitors to view St. Croix Crossing construction close-up,” the site says. It notes that engineers from the state DOTs will discuss the bridge and approach work, and “project staff will be present on the boat to answer questions.”
The following video includes an interview with Jon Chiglo, MnDOT’s former St. Croix Crossing project director, as he described the bridge design and explained why planners chose it.
