Politics & Government
Harsdorf and Knudson Tour Stillwater Lift Bridge
Wisconsin Sen. Sheila Harsdorf and Rep. Dean Knudson, as well as other officials, toured the Stillwater Lift Bridge earlier today and held a roundtable discussion on the issue.
Local Wisconsin state legislators Sen. Sheila Harsdorf (R-River Falls) and Rep. Dean Knudson (R-Hudson) visited the Stillwater Lift Bridge this morning, and they held a roundtable discussion pledging their commitment to a project to build a new bridge.
Others in attendances included Wisconsin Department of Transportation Secretary Mark Gottlieb, Minnesota Department of Transportation Commissioner Tom Sorel and Stillwater Mayor Ken Harycki.
The lift bridge, which was constructed in 1931 and is more than 80 years old, has needed repairs for some time now. Recently the bridge was closed to traffic because of the rising water level on the St. Croix River.
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Kevin Western of the Office of Bridges and Structures in the Minnesota Department of Transportation stated that he anticipated the lift bridge to be re-opened in the afternoon on Monday, April 18.
The lift bridge will still need repairs, and Wisconsin Department of Transportation Secretary Mark Gottlieb noted that a rehabilitation project is scheduled for fall 2012.
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However, the rehabilitation was not the focus of the lift bridge roundtable. Rather, officials discussed the proposed plan for a new bridge that starts just north of the Xcel Energy Plant and crosses the river.
Harsdorf said that "this project has seen one hurdle after the next. We need congressional approval before moving the crossing project forward. There has been a tremendous amount of effort in a bi-partisan fashion working to make that happen."
Gottlieb said that he thinks "it's a really important project to the economy of this area, both on Minnesota and the Wisconsin side."
The project is estimated to cost anywhere from $574 million to $690 million. The proposal calls for Minnesota to cover between $320 million to $380 million, with Wisconsin picking up the remaining $250 million to $310 million.
Harsdorf said that "every day this project is delayed the costs go up." However, she added that she is "very optimistic that we can make this happen."
No date has been set for the project to move forward, as congressional approval is needed before construction can begin.
