I had not heard much about the St. Croix River Bridge in quite some time. Today, I stumbled upon a visualization of the bridge design and the surrounding bicycle and pedestrian trails. It was interesting to watch the animations. They are from the perspective of you in a car driving and take you along the new route. The project appears to be moving forward. However, with a little digging, one discovers the timeline for a new bridge is close to 2024 or beyond (source: October 30, 2007 City of Stillwater council minutes, page 12). To hear the bridge likely will not be complete until 2024 or later is disappointing and perplexing.
Having grown up in Stillwater, the current lift bridge is a nightmare. It is historic and worthy of being saved. However, that does not make the bridge efficient for the current traffic patterns or local business. In fact, after a three-month closure in November of 2005, many businesses reported increased business. During the closure, I recall driving through downtown and noting how quiet and charming downtown had become. It was a very nice change from the constant commuter traffic heading into Wisconsin without stopping to patronize the local businesses.