Minn. and Wis. legislators urge Congress to vote against St. Croix bridge

By Jon Collins
Wednesday, November 09, 2011 at 11:22 am

Thirty Minnesota and Wisconsin state legislators signed a letter urging their congressional delegations to vote against construction of a nearly $700 million bridge across the St. Croix River near Stillwater.

The legislators, many of whom are from the states’ larger cities, said the bridge was simply too expensive.

“As things currently stand, Minnesota will be forced to divert $160 million of its federal allocation and up to $220 million of state highway and bridge funding. Wisconsin will also need to utilize general fund resources, competing directly with education, healthcare and other priorities,” the legislators wrote. “In choosing the most expensive option, H.R. 850 further constrains our states’ already limited resources for critical bridge repairs and road safety projects.”

The legislators called the proposed bridge “wasteful” and urged Congress to allocate funds to take care of all infrastructure safety needs.

“It is particularly striking when one considers that no new net economic development would occur if this massive bridge were to be built,” Sen. Scott Dibble (DFL-Minneapolis) said in a statement. “On the contrary, this bridge would divert jobs and revitalization investments anticipated for the Twin Cities metropolitan area.”

A less expensive option is supported by Rep. Betty McCollum (DFL-Minn.) and Rep. Keith Ellison (DFL-Minn.), while Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann and all four U.S. senators from both states support the more expensive option.

The more expensive bridge would also violate a section of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.

There have also been some public relations missteps by bridge supporters. The blog Ripple in Stillwater earlier reported that Stillwater had used $80,000 in public funds to lobby for the more expensive option, which the city said it would return to Washington County after a critical audit.