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The lecture hall at Osceola High School was standing room only for a public presentation June 25, to offer the newest information on the #243 St. Croix River Bridge replacement project.  Instead of a high school instructor holding the attention of 75 or so in the audience it was MNDOT East Area Engineer Dmitry Tomasevich  who controlled the powerpoint screen and took questions.  

Wisconsin is sharing bridge costs of an estimated $50 million with the State of Minnesota in replacing this aging and busy span.  “What’s driving this project is the bridge condition,” citizens heard from Tomasevich.  There are auxiliary side projects and amenities being incorporated but the bridge is the focus.

Northwest Wisconsin Engineer Marc Browker was also on hand along with staff from both states’ transportation agencies, mingling at the visual displays to speak with visitors.

The new span will sit in the same alignment as the existing bridge, although lower in the river valley, “opening up the view shed” as Tomasevich put it.  

There is one less pylon or upright under the new bridge and this too helps unclutter the riverscape.

Engineers heeded many preferences expressed by citizens during the lengthy pre-design process,  although no project ever is perfect.

The new bridge has a lane added just for foot traffic and biking.  The bridge itself will have stormwater, road ice and salt management aspects, and a switchback off the extra width as it blends into the Minnesota river landing, provides a walkway  under the abutments to avoid people physically crossing #243.

The National Park Service wants the #243 landing and picnic area open for recreation and canoe/kayak uses throughout the project timeframe, which means  people who like to put in at this spot should trade their fishin’ hats for hard hats, one  audience member quipped. 

The excursion paddle boats docked  at Taylors Falls travel the length of the riverway to get to winter storage,  and there will be a corridor kept open for these as well.

State engineers are aware of on-going project sin this immediate vicinity.

Upcoming major road work in Chisago County is just a fact of life for all of 2027 and fall of 2028.  

Tasks for reconstructing Highway 8 from Forest Lake to Chisago City (which could start on local roads in 2026) will be done under-traffic but there are bound to be times when  lacking one St Croix Crossing will be inconvenient.

Chisago county also wants to realign an awkward intersection, where County Road 26 (Pleasant Valley Road) meets Highway 95, midway on a hill not too far from #243.

Meanwhile, MNDOT  has a round-a-bout project in the works for Hwy. 95 at 243, ideally being built in 2026 in advance of the spring 2027 bridge closure.  

Talks continue with Franconia Township for compensation detouring onto local roads to get around this,  and officials are addressing a priority matter of keeping the  Martin Marietta aggregate pit operational.

Plans can always change, Tomasevich cautioned.  The impacts of weather, the St Croix river level and spring-winter flow fluctuations are key contingencies.  

There’s no contract awarded yet (schedule has bidding awarded in fall 2026.)  The way that a contractor tackles any 2026 pre-construction work and the subs, can have an effect on the public interaction with the huge project  as well. 

Tomasevich said future information open house sessions will have more specifc details on detours and added local considerations,  as the next level of evaluations are done.

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