From flooding and an early cold snap to major equipment failures, the St. Croix River bridge project has faced one problem after another.
Now, officials say the bridge will open in the fall of 2017, one year later than originally planned.
The Minnesota and Wisconsin departments of transportation announced Wednesday the new construction timeline for the bridge, which was previously scheduled to open to traffic this fall.
“Delays are typical on a project like this,” said Michael Beer, MnDOT’s project director. “Changes happen. Equipment breaks down. This is a large project with lots of people, lots of equipment on it, lots of specialty equipment on it. It was certainly (an) ambitious (timeline).
Work continues on the new St. Croix River bridge on Wednesday, January 6, 2016. It will open later than originally planned. (Pioneer Press: Jean Pieri) It’s been a learning experience on both sides as we’ve gone along. Had everything gone perfect, we’d probably be in a different situation than we are right now.”
Beer said the new date — he wouldn’t be any more specific than fall 2017 — is “well within the project team’s capability to meet.”
The new completion date came after an assessment of what’s done and what remains to be done, Beer said.
The yearlong delay could end up costing Lunda/Ames Joint Venture, which won the $332.5 million contract to build the bridge superstructure.
The contract includes two possible incentives for Lunda/Ames: a $5 million incentive to complete enough of the bridge by July 2 of this year to allow for one lane of traffic in each direction to open, or a $3.
5 million bonus if the bridge were to open with two lanes of traffic in each direction by Nov. 5.Under the terms of the contract, the joint venture could be required to pay $20,000 a day if the bridge is not open by Nov. 30.
“In fairness, we are in negotiations with the contractor to talk about the delays and the cause of the delays, which may lead to additional contract modifications,” Beer said. “Those discussions are ongoing.”
Beer said agency officials are not considering legal action against Lunda/Ames.
“Working with the them to resolve the schedule issue … will save taxpayer money and reduce total project construction time,” he said.
Several factors pushed the construction project behind schedule, Beer said.
Among them were equipment issues, material shortages, high water in the spring of 2014 and a cold snap in late 2014 that brought ice and low temperatures sooner than expected.
In April 2015, more than 100 ironworkers with J&L Steel and Electrical Services, a Hudson, Wis.-based subcontractor, were pulled from the project following a dispute with Lunda/Ames.
Most of the ironworkers went back to work within a week, hired directly by Lunda/Ames.
Several major equipment issues during the 2015 construction season also contributed to the delay. For example, the segment shuttle crane at the Grey Cloud Island casting yard broke several times, delaying the movement of segments onto barges that would transport them via the Mississippi and St. Croix rivers to the construction site.
Each breakdown caused delays lasting from one day to one week, according to MnDOT.
In addition, the bridge’s segment lifter broke down on Pier 9 in July, causing a weeklong delay because segments couldn’t be erected.
Beer said difficulty in acquiring the necessary concrete forms to make the segments for the bridge also was a major factor. Only two American companies make the forms; the owner of the company selected for the project died in 2014 and then the company’s lead engineer left, causing a five-month delay in the fabrication of the forms.
Work continues on the new St. Croix River bridge in Stillwater on Wednesday, January 6, 2016. It will open later than originally planned. (Pioneer Press: Jean Pieri)
“That was highly unusual,” he said.
The delay is not expected to create any additional impact on traffic, according to MnDOT. Roadwork on the Minnesota side of the bridge along Minnesota 36 and Minnesota 95 is complete, and work across the river along Wisconsin 64 is on schedule.
The new bridge will connect Oak Park Heights and Houlton, Wis., and will replace the aging Stillwater Lift Bridge, which will become part of a hiking and biking trail.
The estimated cost of the project, which includes approach work and creating the trail, is $580 million to $646 million. Construction of the bridge foundation began in the spring of 2013.
“I know everyone … wants to see it done,” Beer said. “I know everyone I’ve talked to is excited about seeing the project progress and what they see out there to date.
“They seem to be understanding, as they’ve watched construction progress, that this is complex. There’s lot of pieces to it, and those pieces are going together albeit a little slower than what we had originally planned,” Beer said. “We plan on having it open to traffic in the fall of 2017, and if the opportunity to open it sooner happens, we will make that happen.”
A set date for the opening of the bridge will help city officials in Stillwater begin planning for the transformation of downtown.
“It’s not that we had anything in limbo, but it’s definitely nice to have a date that we all hope to be solid,” Mayor Ted Kozlowski said.
A new bike-pedestrian loop trail, circling the new bridge and the old, will open and two blocks of Chestnut Street, from Main Street to the lift bridge, will be turned into a pedestrian plaza.
