News Release

ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Wisconsin and Minnesota Departments of Transportation soon will host public scoping meetings to present information and recommendations for a new St. Croix River Crossing between Washington County, Minn and St. Croix County, Wisc.

Utilizing a stakeholder resolution process, the St. Croix River Crossing Project resumed in June 2003. The stakeholder group has focused on identifying alternatives and issues to be addressed in a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the project. Those potential alternatives are summarized in the 2003 Amended Scoping Document and 2003 Amended Draft Scoping Decision. The public scoping meetings are opportunities to gather public input regarding these alternatives.

The first meeting will be held on Tuesday, Dec.2, from 4:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Houlton Elementary School, 70 County Road E, Houlton, Wisc. The second meeting will be held on Wednesday, Dec. 3, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the boardroom of the Washington County Government Center, 14949 62nd Street North, Stillwater, Minn.
The two meetings will cover the same material and no single formal presentation will be made. Representatives of WisDOT, Mn/DOT and the project consultant will be available to answer questions about the project.

The meetings will include preliminary layouts for the alternatives, including proposed improvements to Minnesota Highways 36 and 95 and Wisconsin Highways 64 and 35; information on the ongoing stakeholder problem solving process; tentative schedules and descriptions of environmental studies to be completed.

Community members are encouraged to attend the meetings to learn more about the proposed alternatives and provide their official public input regarding the number of alternatives and items to be studied in the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement.

Copies of the 2003 Amended Scoping Document and 2003 Amended Draft Scoping Decision can be viewed at several area public libraries, or found at the project's web site: http://www.dot.state.mn.us/metro/projects/stcroix

The meeting sites are handicapped accessible. Hearing impaired individuals may request special accommodations by calling WisDOT (TDD) at (715) 836-6578 or Mn/DOT at 651-582-1176.

####