Mussels need to be cleared before construction can begin on new bridge

• St. Croix bridge

This photo simulation shows an aerial view of the King Plant looking west and illustrates the proposed St. Croix River crossing between Oak Park Heights, Minn., and the town of St. Joseph. Minnesota Department of Transportation photo

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HUDSON - The new Saint Croix River bridge near Hudson cannot be built until over seven-thousand mussels are moved away. The Wisconsin DNR says divers will dig up both protected and non-protected mussels next spring, and move them up-stream and out of harm’s way.

DNR biologist Lisie Kitchel tells the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel that 15 species of mussels will be moved – including three federally-protected critters are vital for consuming algae and providing food for other aquatic life on the Saint Croix. Kitchel figures it will cost around 50-thousand dollars to save the latest group of mussels. Back in 1989, the Journal Sentinel said it cost around $100,000 to remove 41 rare mussels from the Saint Croix when a new bridge was built into Minnesota from Prescott. Kitchel says the mussels are found in river beds with good diversity – and the diversity will be preserved after the latest mussels are moved.

Congressional and White House approvals were needed to build the new four-lane bridge, because the project required an exemption from the Wild-and-Scenic Rivers Act. It’s expected to open in 2016 between Hudson and Stillwater and it will replace an 80-year-old two-lane lift bridge.

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