Making the Case for the St. Croix River Crossing

By Mike Wilhelmi, executive director of the Coalition for the St. Croix River Crossing

On Sept. 9 former Congressman Jim Oberstar and the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute hosted a conversation about the future of the Stillwater Lift Bridge and the St. Croix River Crossing. Oberstar, who served on the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee for more than 50 years, is one of the nation’s most respected authorities on infrastructure policy.

At the forum, I shared three reasons on behalf of the coalition why we think people should support the proposed St. Croix River Crossing. Here’s a summary of the arguments:

1. Need: The 80-year-old Stillwater Lift Bridge is a fracture-critical, functionally obsolete bridge. Each day more than 18,000 vehicles cross the bridge, which was built to handle only 11,000 vehicles per day. The bridge closes frequently due to flooding or repair work. Overburdening our current infrastructure causes unsafe levels of traffic congestion in downtown Stillwater, unreliable travel timing, and increased accidents. In fact, the road between the Highway 36/Osgood Avenue intersection and the corner of Chestnut and Main has an accident rate that is double the state average for comparable stretches of road. Also, removing regional traffic from Stillwater city streets will improve every one’s enjoyment of our charming, historic downtown.
   
   There has been a crossing over the St. Croix River at Stillwater since before Minnesota was a state. Communities, families and businesses on both sides of the river have become interdependent because of the bridge. We need a safe, reliable crossing to maintain the quality of life that we all enjoy today. 
   
   
2. Process: St. Croix River Valley residents have been working to replace the Stillwater Lift Bridge for decades. In 2003, a group of 28 federal and state regulators, local government leaders, and environmental and historic preservation groups began studying more than a dozen plans and potential locations for a new bridge. 
   
   After three years of work, the group concluded that the current proposed project was the best option to balance the region’s environmental, traffic safety, and historic preservation goals. The bridge will be located on an industrial part of the river, near the power plant, sewage treatment, plant and the plastics plant near Highway 36, and away from historic downtown Stillwater. 
   
   
3. Price: Perhaps the most contentious issue is the cost of the new crossing. Minnesota’s share of the project cost is about $350 million, of which about $160 million will be paid with federal highway funds. Delays caused by lawsuits have added to the price that will be paid by taxpayers. The current bridge proposal would have cost tens of millions of dollars less if it was built on schedule in 2006. If we continue to dally, the price of the project will only increase.
   
   Still, even at the current price, the new bridge will provide a significant positive return on taxpayers’ investment. The most recent fiscal analysis indicates that for every dollar spent, the region will see a return of $1.53 over the next 20 years, primarily from savings as a result of fewer wasted hours spent in traffic jams and detours, less wasted fuel, and less damage to municipal streets and county roads. 

This project has bipartisan support from both Minnesota and Wisconsin. It is supported by two governors, four U.S. Senators, four Members of Congress, two county boards, every state legislator that represents the project region, and multiple city governments. 

We have never been closer to final approval for the new crossing, but we have not won yet.  Although funding for the bridge is in place, the Congress must pass legislation soon that will permit the bridge to be constructed; otherwise we will lose federal funding. 

Our Senators and Representatives are working hard to pass this legislation, but we need people to join the Coalition so they can show their colleagues in Washington, D.C., that citizens here want the new bridge. Find us at www.stcroixcrossing.org and learn how you can help.

It’s time.  Let’s build the bridge.

Mike Wilhelmi is the executive director of the Coalition for the St. Croix River Crossing, and is a Stillwater resident.