Klobuchar Testifies at Hearing for Bipartisan St. Croix Bridge Legislation

Press Release

Today U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar testified before the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee's National Parks Subcommittee in support of the bipartisan legislation that will move the St. Croix Bridge project forward. Klobuchar introduced the bipartisan legislation with U.S. Senators Herb Kohl (D-WI), Al Franken (D-MN), and Ron Johnson (R-WI) this past May.

Klobuchar was joined at the hearing by Stillwater Mayor Ken Harycki who emphasized the importance of the project to the community. Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) also testified at the hearing supporting the project, which both Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton and Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker support.

"The residents and businesses in Stillwater and along the St. Croix River Valley deserve a safe, more efficient alternative to the 80 year-old Lift Bridge, which is outdated for the needs of the region," said Klobuchar. "The bipartisan legislation would help break the deadlock and bring this project out of bureaucratic limbo, and it is my hope that this hearing will help move this process forward."

Klobuchar pushed to schedule today's hearing so the legislation can move forward as quickly as possible and has also been working with Representative Michele Bachmann (R-MN) who has introduced similar bipartisan legislation in the House with Representatives Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI), Chip Cravaack (R-MN) and Sean Duffy (R-WI).

Over the past few months, Klobuchar has consulted the Department of Transportation and National Park Service on the legislation which also contains a package of mitigation efforts to protect the St. Croix River. These measures were agreed to in 2006 by the National Park Service, the Federal Highway Administration, and the Minnesota and Wisconsin Departments of Transportation and Natural Resources. The mitigation plan would help promote scenic and recreational values of the St. Croix River by eliminating existing man-made structures, protecting river bluff lands, restoring park land, and ensuring public boat access.

The current St. Croix River crossing is at the historic Stillwater Lift Bridge. As the bridge has aged, closings for structural and vehicle collision repairs and maintenance inspections have increased. In addition, the bridge's unique function as a lift bridge, which lifts frequently to allow boats to travel the St. Croix River, is a source of severe traffic congestion.

Klobuchar's full testimony as prepared for delivery is below:

Well thank you very much Chairman Udall. Congratulations to Ranking Member Paul, and thank you also to my colleague, Senator Franken, and thank you for holding this hearing today on S. 1134, the St. Croix River Crossing Project Authorization Act, which I introduced with my colleagues Senators Kohl and Johnson of Wisconsin, and Senator Franken.

Before I begin, I would like to welcome to the U.S. Senate the Minnesota witnesses who will be speaking later: Stillwater Mayor Ken Harycki, who drove here, Chariman, with his family. That's how badly he wanted to get here. I'm sure he drove over many bridges. And also Roger Tomten, who will also be testifying.

The St. Croix River Crossing Project Authorization Act would allow construction of a bridge across the St. Croix River. The project would not only provide a new link between the states of Minnesota and Wisconsin, but also ensure that a critical package of projects are built to mitigate impacts the bridge may have on the scenic, recreational or historical values of the St. Croix River valley.

And, the project, as you mentioned, has the support of Governors Dayton and Governor Walker as you can see from their strong testimony on the record.

There is broad consensus, as Senator Franken noted, that a new bridge is necessary. The current crossing is the Lift Bridge, which was built in 1931 and designed to handle 11,000 vehicles per day. Today, it handles over 18,000 vehicles per day and as many as 25,000 per day in the summer.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation has listed the bridge as being "structurally deficient," and is also "fracture critical," which means that if one component of the bridge fails, the entire structure will fail.

As the bridge has aged, closures for maintenance and repairs have increased. This spring, the Lift Bridge was featured on the History Channel's, "Inspector America" program, which showed the severe corrosion on the steel plates and the host's ability to remove concreted from the piers with his own hands.

The bridge itself is a source of significant traffic congestion, especially in the summer months, when it lifts frequently to allow watercraft to pass. This backs up on both sides of the bridge, as much as an entire mile, creating extensive gridlock and air pollution, hindering economic activity and threatening public safety--particularly when emergency vehicles are unable to pass through.

Simply put, there is nearly unanimous agreement that the current bridge is completely inadequate.

Mr. Chairman, Mayor Harycki will discuss the impact the Lift Bridge has on the community. And, testimony discussing the regional impact of the Lift Bridge has been submitted by Lakeview Hospital; Leo's Grill and Malt Shop, a small business owner; and the Minnesota Building and Construction Trades Council.

You may ask why this project has taken thirty years if everyone agrees that a new bridge is necessary, which is a very good question. Why are we here today?

In October 2010, the National Park Service determined that the proposed bridge would violate Section 7(a) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. This was the third such determination issued by the NPS, which, in doing so, reversed the previous 7(a) determination, which, in turn, was a reversal of their first 7(a) determination on this project dating back to the mid-1990s.

So, when you combine these actions with endless litigation, it's very easy to see why we're here today in the United States Senate considering a bill to authorize the project to finally move forward.

The bridge that my bill would authorize has been developed through a comprehensive stakeholder process that began three decades ago. Local, state and federal officials joined with the environmental community, historical preservationists, local businesses and the general public to partner on the process.

I worked closely with the NPS to ensure that the legislation required a comprehensive package of mitigation projects, which would be implemented with construction of the bridge. This mitigation package was developed among a 28 member stakeholder process in 2006, including the National Park Service, and would make important improvements like remove other manmade structures from the river, and protect park land and bluffs.

And, as you can see, from this picture right here, the bridge would be constructed near an existing power plant, with a water treatment facility, and a marina. Also nearby, you'll see in the background, is a prison. All of these structures already exist in the river valley.

Now, in 2004, options were studied with the goal of choosing the most appropriate bridge project that would not only meet the region's current and future transportation needs , but would also have the best design with the smallest impact on the river valley's scenic, recreational, historical and environmental resources.

A few weeks ago, and you'll hear about this today, a proposed "lower and slower" bridge design reemerged that would have a diagonal three lane bridge be constructed closer to the existing Lift Bridge.

Now, I say that the "lower-slower" bridge "reemerged," and I'm sure it did with all good intentions, but it reemerged because it is similar to options that were studied during the 2004 review. Those options were studied extensively and rejected because it was determined that they would have greater environmental impacts than the preferred alternative next to that treatment plant--impacts that would affect everything from park properties, bluff areas, historical structures, flood plains, wetlands, and commercial properties. And, they would face a difficult time making it through this Scenic Rivers review process.

That's not to mention the issues of cost. In 2004, the rejected bridge proposals--the one that was similar to the "lower-slower" plan--were anticipated to cost at least 500 million dollars. And that's nearly double the design estimate that is made for this project now. So obviously we're concerned about the cost with the alternative.

Finally, as we know, this would have to go through the entire review process again, and would add more and more time to the process. And here we get to the nub of the problem.

The states of Minnesota and Wisconsin have worked hard to plan for this project over 30 years and they have the money to build it. They're not asking here today, they're not coming and asking Congress for money.

Some of the state and federal funds that would be used for construction will expire in 2014. That is why we cannot go through an entire process again, Mr. Chairman, for a different design. Unfortunately, the Minnesota Department of Transportation estimates that it will take three years to complete all the necessary permits for constructing this project. That is why Governor Dayton has said that the legislation to authorize the bridge should be enacted by September 30, 2011.

In conclusion, Mr. Chairman, for decades, the people and businesses of the St. Croix River Valley have been crying out for a safer, more efficient alternative to the Lift Bridge. Not only that, the states have the resources necessary to start construction, and any bridge proposal would likely need Congressional authorization. So what are we waiting for? It's time to break the deadlock and bring this project out of the bureaucratic limbo that it's been in for 30 years. We've waited long enough and it's time to move forward. I ask for your support and your help in moving this bill quickly through the Energy and Natural Resources Committee to the full Senate.

Thank you very much Mr. Chairman.

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