Judge blocks proposed St. Croix bridge again
Regional News- A federal judge in Minneapolis has said no for a second time to a new bridge over the Saint Croix River near Hudson.
A federal judge in Minneapolis has said no for a second time to a new bridge over the Saint Croix River near Hudson.
Chief Judge Michael Davis said the National Park Service broke the law when it approved the $668 million bridge. He agreed with the Sierra Club that it goes against the provisions of the Wild-and-Scenic Rivers Act, under which the Saint Croix River is federally-protected.
The ruling is just the latest chapter in a debate over the new bridge that’s being going on for over 40 years. The new structure would replace an aging lift bridge that goes into downtown Stillwater, Minnesota at Houlton on the Wisconsin side.
Judge Davis said the Park Service did a flip-flop in approving a new bridge in 2005. He noted that in 1996, the same agency said the structure would have a “dramatic and disruptive impact” on the river’s scenery.
Stillwater Mayor Ken Harycki says he cannot believe how many millions of dollars have been wasted fighting and delaying the project over the past half-century. Minnesota officials were hoping to start building it in 2013. But now, Harycki says the judge’s ruling holds up the new bridge for at least another five years. Federal agencies would have to decide whether to appeal the judge’s ruling, because they’re the ones the Sierra Club targeted with its lawsuit.
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