Roadwork for St. Croix River Crossing Will Begin in April

Roadwork for the St. Croix River Crossing Project will begin in April, according to MnDOT’s Project Manager Jon Chiglo.

Work on the project—building highways and bridge approaches on the Minnesota and Wisconsin sides of the St. Croix River—will include rebuilding frontage roads on both sides of Highway 36 in Oak Park Heights and Stillwater, Chiglo told the Washington County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday. Construction on that portion of the project is expected to be complete in fall of 2014.

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The highways will always have one lane open in each direction during construction, Chiglo said. There will be 12 days of road closure to Osgood and Greeley/Oak Green at Highway 36.

The roadways will not be closed at the same time, and business access will be maintained during normal business hours.

The Wisconsin approaches will be built in 2014, 2015 and 2016—with the final paving coinciding with the completion of the bridge itself, Chiglo said.

Crews will begin building the five bridge piers in the water this spring; and must complete the foundation work by June 2014.

The design of the extradosed bridge includes about 900 precast segments that will be put in place to complete the bridge deck.

The Department of Transportation is committed to communicating with members of the public and business owners throughout the project, Chiglo said. There will be an office in Stillwater that will house project staff, to keep them close to the communities.

Informational open houses are being conducted in both Minnesota and Wisconsin, and the staff is working to do business and community outreach in Wisconsin and Minnesota.

The project staff will also engage local students enrolled in science, technology, engineering and math courses to provide a “real world” experience during the bridge construction.