Crews brave winter on St. Croix Crossing

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By Brian Johnson
Dolan Media Newswires

The $626.4 million St. Croix Crossing project is slowing down for the winter but not going into hibernation.

Braving the winter chill on the icy St. Croix River, crews continue to work on crossbeams and pier decks for the nearly mile-long bridge between Oak Park Heights, Minn., and St. Joseph, Wis.

Two casting yards for the project, one near the project site and another at Grey Cloud Island near Cottage Grove, Minn. — will continue operations during the winter, said Kristin Calliguri, the Minnesota Department of Transportation’s spokeswoman for the St. Croix Crossing project.

Highway 36 approach work on the Minnesota side of the project is done for the winter and will resume in spring. Calliguri said all the Minnesota approach work should be completed by mid-summer.

Wisconsin-side grading activity also is done for 2014, but pile driving for the bridge abutments is underway.

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation recently awarded a $12.5 million contract to Fennimore, Wis.-based H. James & Sons Inc. for the second phase of Wisconsin approach work.

The approach work will begin in spring and finish in December. Work includes grading from just north of Highway E to Highway 64; grading, pavement and “incidentals” on the shifted Highway E; construction of an interchange at Highway E and roundabouts at the new Highway 35/Highway E intersection, according to WisDOT.

The new bridge over the St. Croix River is on schedule to open in 2016, Calliguri said.

The project is a joint venture between Black River Falls, Wis.-based Lunda Construction and Burnsville, Minn.-based Ames Construction Inc.