Wisconsin might not fund Stillwater design-build bridge

There are some in Wisconsin who don't trust Minnesota with their money, it seems.

[Margie Gunderson]

This lack of action has gone on forever. The "missing" new St Croix crossing is costing folks time and money. How about Rob Hubbard can keep his "house" if he helps pays for a new bridge?

[Dan]

Wisconsin people are right. Minnesota spends two times as much to build anything in MNDOT because of the restrictions the State has put on MNDOT and not being able to bid on projects that they can do in house. Some times MNDOT can do a job for 10% of the cost, but our state does not allow MNDOT to bid on construction, painting or signage they could do in house.
Design-build projects cost more and are faster to build not because of some made up streem line of the way they are built, but because the rules are differant in many ways including land purchases

[git er done]

It has only been 20 years, what's the rush now? More expensive? It could have been built for one-tenth the cost back in the late 80's - early 90's. Forget design build, that means double the cost and is not necessary seeing that it has taken this long. Why try to speed it up now and pay extra $$$?

[Smartass]

ok now I ain't as smart as I look but if my next door neighbor wants to come see me a lot or even work over here but we got this deep a$$ between us, then he can build any bridge and he pays 100% for it. But I get to approve the looks of it. It don't benefit me at all just him. If we cannot agree then he can just walk to the road and come over. Now ain't that simple the way I see it ?

[Smartass]

woww deep a s s dtich was bleaped

[Had About Enough]

Most river span bridges are done with two separate bridges – one for each direction of traffic.

Simple solution:

Wisconsin will design, will build and will pay 100% for the westbound bridge into Minnesota.

Likewise, Minnesota can 100% pay for a design built, beautifully designed, but way overpriced span just to impress their next door neighbors.

Problem is solved!

[Incredible]

Wow...even the not-at-all-conservative leadership in the Wisconsin legislature can see our leaders can't control their spending pens.

"Wisconsin Sen. Mark Miller, co-chair of the Legislature's Joint Committee on Finance that approved the provision, says there are concerns Minnesota would choose a project that would stick Wisconsin with "an inflated price tag."

Unfortunately, we all know how this will end. Minnesota DOT will end up sticking Minnesota taxpayers with the inflated price tag instead.

[Incredible]

Margie Gunderson wrote:

This lack of action has gone on forever. The "missing" new St Croix crossing is costing folks time and money. How about Rob Hubbard can keep his "house" if he helps pays for a new bridge?

How about the Sierra Club and all the other enviro-whiners pay for the bridge, since they have driven the cost up by blocking this project for 10 years?

[MNDOT is the Worst]

Can't blame Wisconsin for this one. You have to look no further than what MNDOT has managed to do with the Wacouta Bridge. It's still not completed after how many years? It's located on probably the most traffic congested freeway in the twin cities and it's taken years and tons of money and they're already on to their second different contractor. MNDOT couldn't figure out how to build a bridge over a tiny stream in a 10 year time frame.

[James]

Urban sprawl is killing the Twin cities and driving down our quality of life. I say we stop promoting it by building more lanes and bridges. If this what you want, move to LA.

[Farm Boy]

"The longer we wait, the cost of that bridge goes up," said Lieder, DFL-Crookston, adding that some figures show the cost of construction grows by $1 million every month"

With the economy the way it is, shouldn't the costs be getting cheaper????

[jdee]

"There are some in Wisconsin who don't trust Minnesota with their money, it seems" I couldn't agree more and I live in MN

[RJ Guy]

What if Minnesota builds it. Then add a toll booth on both the Stillwater and 94 bridges? Problem solved!

[jdee]

Smartass wrote:

ok now I ain't as smart as I look but if my next door neighbor wants to come see me a lot or even work over here but we got this deep **** between us, then he can build any bridge and he pays 100% for it. But I get to approve the looks of it. It don't benefit me at all just him. If we cannot agree then he can just walk to the road and come over. Now ain't that simple the way I see it ?

if someone in woodbury wants to work in albertville should we build him a one lane highway to get to albertville quickly without any inconveniences? if you choose to work somewhere just move there if you don't like the commute. not my problem

[the other jim]

Farm Boy wrote:

"The longer we wait, the cost of that bridge goes up," said Lieder, DFL-Crookston, adding that some figures show the cost of construction grows by $1 million every month"
With the economy the way it is, shouldn't the costs be getting cheaper????

have you looked up oil prices lately in NY? the speculators are driving up the price again. it's back up in the 70's, even when demand is down, oil tankers are being hired to store the oil off shore, and unemployment is up in the world. the speculators which tipped us over the edge into this credit mess (they only were the straw that broke the camel's back when they first drove it unnecessarily to 140+, imho, not the only cause) are looking to make it a full-blown stagflationary depression (read supply-side depression), not just a recession like currently.
the cost has gone up and we get less and less for the buck. just a matter of how much.

[Jeff Eastsider]

Cheddar sales must be slumping.....

[Mr Right]

MN should not contribute a dime for this project! Why should MN contribute to a bridge to "no where" Wisconsin????

THIS MAKES NO SENSE!

[Mr Right]

A BRIDGE TO NO WHERE MN SHOULD NOT CONTRIBUTE A DIME TOWARDS!

[what]

I say we wait until the 80 year old lift bridge falls into the st. croix. Then we can take a tally of the number of wisconsin and Minnesota people killed in the collapse. Who ever has the most... their state should pay for the new bridge.

[Troubled1]

It's time to build a bridge!
Let's let Wisconsin pay for it and we reimburse THEM!
Time to tell the Sierra Club to go hug a tree somewhere else!
Let get this bridge built!