Politics & Government
MnDOT: 'Main Reason' for $676 Million Cost of St. Croix River Crossing Project is Muck
Foundation work for the St. Croix River Crossing Project will account for about 40 percent of the estimated $676 million bridge project, MnDOT officials told the Pioneer Press.
The main reason the St. Croix River Crossing Project will cost nearly three times the amount spent to replace the Interstate 35W Bridge in Minneapolis is apparently, muck.
Foundation work for the new bridge accounts for 40 percent of that estimate, Project Manager Jon Chiglo told the Pioneer Press. Crews are expected to have to drill down 160 feet to complete foundation work in the St. Croix River, which is about 70 feet deeper than the longest shaft drilled for the I-35W bridge.
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"In some instances, we have 85 feet of muck in the St. Croix that we have to drill through before we reach the softer sandstone," Chiglo told the Pioneer Press. "And then there's 30 to 40 feet of soft sandstone that we'll go through and, ultimately, get into that more sound bedrock that we have to go into about 30 to 40 feet."
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is expected to start toward the end of May and last about three months. .
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