This site is background information on the development of the project |
Mn/DOT
Home  
|
| MINNESOTA
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION CONSTRUCTION PROJECT |
  |
|
| |
Public
comments can be sent to e-mail address: kevin.walker@state.mn.us City
of Bayport's Public Hearing on Municipal Consent
Notice
of Public Hearing - Jan 8, 2007(47k PDF)
City of Stillwater's
Public Hearing on Municipal Consent
Notice
of Public Hearing - Oct 31, 2006(12k PDF)
2006
SUPPLEMENTAL FINAL EIS, Public
comment period closes July 19, 2006 NEWSLETTER
Spring 2006 - Supplemental Final EIS, Available
for public comment - (2,516 k pdf)
Draft
Amended Memorandum of Agreement (Section 106) for the
historic properties of the St. Croix River Crossing Project,
June 6, 2005 (67k PDF) City of Stillwater's Public Hearing on Park Properties Notice
of Public Hearing (172k PDF)
4(f) Consultation Presentation at Public Hearing, May 17,2005 (1,909k PDF) Transit and Land Use Workshop - December 13, 2004 Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS) Phase September Public Hearings Mn/DOT, WisDOT and FHWA held two public hearings for the St. Croix River Crossing Project in September to gather public input on the Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS) and present information on the alternatives being considered in the SDEIS. The first meeting was held at Stillwater Junior High School in Stillwater, MN on Tuesday, September 21, 2004. The second meeting was held at Somerset High School on Wednesday, September 22, 2004. Approximately 200 people attended each of the hearings in an Open House format featuring numerous plans, drawings, maps and animations of the various alignments and impact analysis. A pre-recorded presentation summarizing the history, status and alternatives currently considered was also available for viewing throughout the hearings. Read
the SDEIS online June Public Informational Meetings The St. Croix River Crossing Stakeholders Group together with Mn/DOT and WisDOT held two meetings regarding potential alignments for the St. Croix River Crossing project. The first meeting was held at Hudson Senior High School in Hudson, Wisconsin on Tuesday, June 15. The second was held at Stillwater Junior High School on Monday, June 21. Approximately 300 people attended each of the meetings, which included a power point presentation narrated by a representative from the consulting firm and a panel made up of representatives from each of transportation agencies as well as from the Federal Highway Administration. The audience asked numerous questions about the timing and cost of the project, as well as details about each of the alignments. Each of the meetings was also preceded by an Open House which featured numerous plans, drawings and maps of the various alignments
Summer
2004 Newsletter (2,900k PDF) Scoping Phase 2003 Amended Final Scoping Decision Document Mn/DOT and Wis/DOT held two public scoping meetings for the St. Croix River Crossing Project on December 2 & 3, 2003 in Houlton, WI & Stillwater, MN to present information gathered during the scoping process to-date and to present recommendations for project alternatives and issues to be studied in the SEIS. Meetings
News Releases St.
Croix River Crossing Scoping Meetings to be held (Nov.
26, 2003) History
of Public and Agency Involvement
The studies for the St. Croix River Crossing between Stillwater/Oak Park Heights, Minnesota and St. Joseph Township, Wisconsin, have involved substantial coordination with the public, agencies, communities, and special concern groups. The major areas of coordination and public input include but are not limited to the following: scoping activities for the original draft environmental impact report; the Stillwater-Houlton Bridge Task Force; formal resolutions; public petitions and mail-in comments; public informational meetings and newsletters; the Braun Facilitation Process; and meetings with cooperating agencies along with their review comments. More specific descriptions of the past public involvement process can be found in the project documents including the 1987 Scoping Decision Document, the 1990 Draft EIS, the 1995 Final EIS, the 1998 Braun Report, and the 1999 Amended Scoping Decision Document. Public involvement is currently taking place in the Stakeholder Resolution Process. The current round of studies for a new river crossing began with scoping activities in 1984 leading to the Draft Environmental Impact Report of 1990 and the Final Environmental Impact Report in 1995. The Stillwater- Houlton Bridge Task Force started meeting in 1985 and had periodic meetings for this entire period. The Task Force was composed of members and alternates that were appointed by the 11 communities that could have been affected by the various bridge alternatives. Because of the potential impact of a new river crossing, a number of communities were closely involved with the environmental review process. Several passed formal resolutions supporting or rejecting specific alternatives. In 1988, the St. Joseph Town Board unanimously passed a motion which stated that if a new river crossing is built, it should be located along the northern alignment of the South Corridor (the "Buckhorn" site). According to the resolution, the northern alignment "is the only route in the Southern Corridor that the Board finds acceptable." In 1988, the Stillwater City Council passed a resolution supporting the South Corridor as the preferred location for a new river crossing. The statement observed that "the South Corridor Bridge location has the fewest detrimental impacts to the City," and that "the Central or North locations would be detrimental to the health, welfare and economy of the Stillwater community." In addition to the City Council resolution, the Stillwater Planning Commission, the Heritage Preservation Commission, the Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Business Association and the Downtown Development Corporation recommended a South Corridor bridge location as well as continued operation of the existing lift bridge. Grant Township passed a resolution in 1987 opposing the selection of a North Corridor route. In 1987, Stillwater Township took a position that "the Northern Corridor is not a viable site for a new bridge." During the original
EIS process in 1990, two petitions were circulated in support
of various alternatives. The largest contained over 400 signatures,
mainly from residents living in the Minnesota portion of the
study area. This petition advocated locating a new bridge "over
the St. Croix River south of Stillwater as an extension of State
Highway 36." According to the statement, a South or Central
Corridor location: would best accommodate traffic, including
the Andersen Corporation employees." The petition added
that "the scenic quality of the comparatively untouched
area north of Stillwater would be seriously impaired? Another
letter was received by the transportation departments which included
37 signatures that expressed support for the Central Corridor
and/or the northern alignment of the South Corridor. Although the opinions expressed in the mail-in comments were varied, a number of themes emerged from Mn/DOT's tabulation of the responses. The top five "alternatives" in terms of number of comments received in 1995 are as follows: oppose North Corridor (76); support South Corridor (60); support Central Corridor (17); support NO-BUILD (11); and support North Corridor (10). Throughout the Braun Process of 1998, comments were also categorized according to what concerns people thought were most important in weighing the alternatives. The nine issues most frequently stated were as follows: aesthetics (57); environment (45); access (40); business concerns (37); traffic congestion (36); cost (33); and wildlife (31). MN/DOT has periodically sent newsletters to interested area residents, which detailed the study process and reviewed the results of some of the special environmental studies. Since the beginning of the scooping process, Mn/DOT and Wis/DOT have also held a number of informational meetings for the public, special concern groups, communities, and agencies. During the environmental review process, a number of state and Federal governmental bodies have acted as cooperating agencies with Mn/DOT, Wis/DOT, and the FHWA. These agencies have reviewed project documents in their areas of expertise and/or interest, providing critical commentary and information. Cooperating agencies include the following: the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; the National Park Service; the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer; the U.S. Coast Guard; the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources; and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources have been the most actively involved. In addition to cooperating agencies, a number of other federal, state, regional, and local governmental bodies, as well as various private organizations, have played roles in the study process. Some of these include the Minnesota-Wisconsin Boundary Area Commission, the Lower St. Croix Management Commission, the City of Stillwater, the Voyageur's Region National Park Association, and the Sierra Club. Presently the Stakeholder Problem-Solving process includes representatives from the National Park Service (St. Croix National Scenic Riverway), Federal Highway Administration, US Army Corps of Engineers, US Coast Guard, US Environmental Protection Agency, US Fish and Wildlife, Advisory Council on the Historic Preservation, State Departments of Natural Resources, State Historic Preservation Offices, State Departments of Transportation, St.Croix County, St. Croix County Highway Commission, City of Stillwater, City of Oak Park Heights, Sierra Club, National Trust for Historic Preservation, Minnesota Preservation Alliance, Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, Stillwater Historic Preservation Commission, Rivertown Restoration, Friends of the St. Croix, Stillwater Area Chamber of Commerce, St. Croix Alliance for an Interstate Bridge, Stillwater Lift Bridge Association, and the Board of Realtors.
|
