Roseville,
Minn.— The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the
Wisconsin and Minnesota Departments of Transportation (WisDOT,
Mn/DOT) will hold two Public Hearings that will provide an opportunity
for members of the public to give official input regarding alternatives
studied for a new St. Croix River Crossing between Washington
County, Minnesota and St. Croix County, Wisconsin.
All interested persons are invited to attend either hearing and
to present relevant oral and/or written testimony including recommendations
of the proposed river crossing location, the type of new bridge
structure, the future use of the Lift Bridge, and the suitability
of potential mitigation items.
The first Public Hearing will be held on Tuesday, September 21,
from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the Stillwater Junior High School,
523 W. Marsh Street, Stillwater, Minnesota.
The second Hearing will be held on Wednesday, September 22, from
5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the Somerset High School, 645 Sunset
Drive, Somerset, Wisconsin.
The hearings will provide identical information and no formal
presentation will be made. As an informational service, representatives
of FHWA, WisDOT, Mn/DOT and the project consultant, SRF Consulting,
will be available to answer questions about the project. Maps,
drawings, animations, and other pertinent information (including
the Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement) will be
available. The tentative schedules for right of way acquisition
and construction will be available, as well as information on
the proposing agencies’ relocation assistance program.
The Environmental Impact Statement is required under the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, which directs agencies
to use a systematic, interdisciplinary approach during planning
and decision-making whenever a project has a potential impact
on the human environment.
Public comments received during the comment period will be used
to inform the federal and state transportation agencies and the
St. Croix River Crossing Stakeholder Group, in their evaluations
of the No-Build and four Build Alternatives. Substantive comments
received will be addressed and summarized in the Supplemental
Final EIS to be released following FHWA, Mn/DOT and WisDOT’s
selection of the Preferred Alternative later this year.
Provisions have been made for the submission of written statements
or other exhibits in place of, or in addition to, the testimony
presented at these public hearings. This additional testimony
will be included in the hearing transcript if postmarked not later
than October 6, 2004.
Written mail comments concerning the St. Croix River Crossing
Supplemental Draft Impact Statement should be sent to the following
address:
St. Croix River Crossing Project
SDEIS Public Comments
Mn/DOT Metro District
Waters Edge Mail Stop 51
1500 West County Road B2
Roseville MN 55113
E-Mail: Direct E-mail – metstcroixriverxing@dot.state.mn.us.
No forwards will be accepted.
The SDEIS is available for review on the project website (www.dot.state.mn.us/metro/projects/stcroix)
and hard copies are available for review at the following locations:
Oak Park Heights City Hall (14168 Oak Park Blvd. North, Oak Park
Heights); Stillwater City Hall (216 North Fourth Street, Stillwater);
St. Joseph Town Hall (1337 County Road V, St. Joseph); Bayport
Public Library (528 North Fourth Street, Bayport); Carleton A.
Friday Memorial Library (155 East First Street, New Richmond);
Hudson Area Joint Library (911 Fourth Street, Hudson); Somerset
Public Library (208 Hud Street, Somerset); Stillwater Public Library
(223 Fourth Street North, Stillwater); Washington Co. Gov. Center
Library (14949 62nd Street North, Stillwater); Mn/DOT - Metro
District (1500 County Road B2, Roseville); Mn/DOT Library (395
John Ireland Boulevard, St. Paul); WisDOT District 6, 718 W. Clairemont,
Eau Claire); WisDOT Planning Library (4802 Sheboygan Avenue, Madison);
and the Environmental Conservation Library (300 Nicollet Mall,
Minneapolis)
The hearing sites are wheelchair accessible. Individuals with
a disability who need reasonable accommodation to participate
in the public hearings, please contact Mary McFarland at 651-582-1176.
Hearing or speech-impaired persons should contact the Minnesota
relay Service at 1-800-627-3529
