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St.
Croix River Crossing …One
Step at a Time
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Metro District Engineer Khani Sahebjam signs the SFEIS
for the St. Croix River Crossing project.
Photo by Mary McFarland-Brooks
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Fourscore
and seven years ago our forefathers (and mothers) began working
on
the
St. Croix River Crossing. Today the project moved
another step closer to reality with the signing of the Supplemental
Final Environmental Impact Statement
(SFEIS), by Metro District Engineer, Khani Sahebjam.
The document
is the result of over four years of hard work by the St.
Croix Stakeholders Group, Mn/DOT,
WisDOT and the FHWA. The voluminous document contains a
thorough examination of the social, economic and environmental
impacts
of the project. The SFEIS documents the preferred alternative,
including
the roadway approaches in Minnesota and Wisconsin and the
river bridge type, the subsequent use of the Stillwater Lift
Bridge
as a pedestrian facility and an extensive mitigation package.
The
document is expected to be available to the public in
mid-June and will be followed by a 30-day public review period.
A Record of Decision and Adequacy Determination are anticipated
in August
and will document Mn/DOT, WisDOT and FHWA’s final decision
regarding the preliminary engineering for the project. $25 million
for final design and implementation of a number of mitigation items
has been obtained by Mn/DOT, WisDOT and local partners. However,
construction funding may be the project’s biggest remaining
hurdle; however, discussions are underway between FHWA, the two
DOT’s and national experts to identify and pursue
a funding strategies to build the estimated $373M mega
project.
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