How long will the stillwater bridge be closed

In perhaps the quirky span's last bit of mystery, the Minnesota Department of Transportation won't say exactly when it will close, only that it will be sometime overnight.

The shift will end years of St. Croix Valley commuter traffic through downtown Stillwater, traffic that over the years became a source of frustration for commuters and merchants as the region's population grew and the bridge became a choke point. Many hope the closure of the Lift Bridge to cars and its eventual rebirth in June as a bicycle and pedestrian path will transform downtown Stillwater.

Boat traffic will continue. Lift operators will still work the bridge to allow crafts to pass through. At the Water Street Inn near the bridge, the bar connected to the hotel has been posting drink specials to celebrate the bridge closure.

Chris Kohtz's cheese shop, the Wedge and Wheel, is a stone's throw from the bridge. He stepped out of the shop on a recent weekday to watch what has been a typical scene: traffic at a crawl, backed up in every direction from the stop light at the corner. Car exhaust keeps him from opening shop windows or doors on a nice day and the noise is grating to customers, he added. He also thinks many Stillwater residents stay away from their own downtown.

Use your real name, and back up your claims. Keep it local and relevant. Make sure your replies stay on topic. Review the Patch Community Guidelines. Reply to this article Reply. Croix River, news organizations and other outlets are free to share St. Croix content, as long as you follow a few simple rules. Republish St. Croix stories ». Croix Due to the need to train new bridge tenders to operate the Stillwater Lift Bridge, the lift bridge schedule will not resume until 8 a.

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Submit your events to Splash. Share it with St. Croix for promotion. Croix Syndication To help increase awareness of the St. Partners St. Workers will convert the bridge deck into an avenue for people who walk and roll, replacing the pavement with a trail surface. The old bridge will be fitted out with new components to keep its lift operating for years to come. One span will be removed next summer to allow boats to pass under while the repair work is done.

Croix Crossing project that built the new bridge. Todd Clarkowski, who coordinated the St. Croix bridge project for the Minnesota Department of Transportation, participated in discussions beginning in that settled compromises for the new bridge and led to a decision to preserve the old one.

But it has also frustrated motorists and merchants forced to cope with long delays whenever the lift went up. Moreover, the bridge closed several times each year for floods, inspections, repairs and general maintenance.

It became a political football, trashed by some people as being on the verge of falling down. MnDOT refuted those allegations, saying that planned repairs would prolong its life. Last Wednesday night, a crowd gathered in Stillwater to celebrate the closing of the Lift Bridge to traffic, just as thousands gathered in to celebrate its opening.

To Peterson, executive director of the county historical society, the Lift Bridge now represents a third era in Stillwater history: tourism. That lift bridge sets us apart from other river communities. Don Empson, another Stillwater historian, wrote that the biggest victory in the bridge debate was preservation of the old bridge.