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Stillwater Bridge

Started by on_wisconsin, August 21, 2011, 11:31:32 PM

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kphoger

Quote from: froggie on January 24, 2012, 01:36:16 PM
QuoteOh, I could tell it wasn't reality due to the obvious lack of maroon minivans.  I mean, really, this is supposed to be Minnesota, right?

I don't know which Minnesota you've visited...but the Minnesota I grew up in didn't have maroon minivans...

The unofficial vehicle of Minnesota families:


I was meeting a guy near Minneapolis once whom I'd never met before.  I asked what kind of car he drove so I would recognize him.  He replied, 'What everyone else in Minnesota drives, a maroon minivan'.  I though he was crazy.  Then, in the five miles I drove to meet him, I saw three maroon minivans.  I became a believer...  :nod:
Keep right except to pass.  Yes.  You.
Visit scenic Orleans County, NY!
Male pronouns, please.

Quote from: Philip K. DickIf you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use them.


triplemultiplex

Quote from: kphoger on January 24, 2012, 05:02:24 PM
I was meeting a guy near Minneapolis once whom I'd never met before.  I asked what kind of car he drove so I would recognize him.  He replied, 'What everyone else in Minnesota drives, a maroon minivan'.  I though he was crazy.  Then, in the five miles I drove to meet him, I saw three maroon minivans.  I became a believer...  :nod:

I find this especially funny, because I have a cousin who lives in the Cities with her family and guess what they drive?
lol
You can't make this stuff up.

Anyway, good to see Congress came to the conclusion that a beautiful new bridge won't detract from the scenery of the piles of fly ash on the bluff above the coal power plant on the river.  I think I said before, the St. Croix River is a gorgeous national treasure that should be preserved as much as humanly possible... upstream from Stillwater.

Of course who am I kidding?  For the rest of Congress, this is just some bridge, some where, that has bi-partisan, cross-state support so that's good enough for them.

If we thought St. Croix County, WI was 'growing' fast before, just wait until this double-edged sword gets built.  We'll be lucky if the new bridge can be built before the old one falls into the drink and they've gotta get thru traffic out of Stillwater's cool little downtown.  But it's going to make it much easier to cover northern St. Croix County with subdivisions.  Blech.

Side note: can we please get some new goddamn aerials for the Twin Cities area on the commercial mapping sites?  C'mon Google; get on it, Bing.  I'm sick of looking at these 04-05 photos already!
"That's just like... your opinion, man."

Alps

This is enough to convince me to hit up Minneapolis before/after the Joliet meet. Gotta see the current bridge before it goes.

NE2

Won't the old bridge remain for non-motorized use?
pre-1945 Florida route log

I accept and respect your identity as long as it's not dumb shit like "identifying as a vaccinated attack helicopter".

on_wisconsin

#29
Quote from: NE2 on January 24, 2012, 09:04:33 PM
Won't the old bridge remain for non-motorized use?
That is still the plan as far as the MnDOT site shows.
"Speed does not kill, suddenly becoming stationary... that's what gets you" - Jeremy Clarkson

Alps

Quote from: on_wisconsin on January 24, 2012, 09:30:23 PM
Quote from: NE2 on January 24, 2012, 09:04:33 PM
Won't the old bridge remain for non-motorized use?
That is still the plan as far as the MnDOT site shows.
It takes a LOT longer to cross without a motor. (:

froggie

QuoteIf we thought St. Croix County, WI was 'growing' fast before, just wait until this double-edged sword gets built.  We'll be lucky if the new bridge can be built before the old one falls into the drink and they've gotta get thru traffic out of Stillwater's cool little downtown.

If the bridge goes, it'd actually improve Stillwater downtown traffic.  But I'd hate to be in Hudson or be an I-94 commuter...

QuoteBut it's going to make it much easier to cover northern St. Croix County with subdivisions.  Blech.

Yep.

texaskdog

People need to live closer to their jobs, just makes practical sense to begin with

Mdcastle

The current bridge isn't going anywhere anytime soon regardless of what happens.

That was one of the original hang-ups on this project. The present bridge had do be demolished because no net increase in crossings over the St. Croix River was allowed. But the present bridge couldn't be demolished because it's a historic site. Eventually it was decided the present bridge would not longer be a "crossing" since it will become non-motorized. The plan is to keep it as long as it is structurally sound, which could be many decades. Some rehab and deferred maintenance was done on it several years ago when it was clear the new bridge wasn't going to be built anytime soon.

Brandon

Quote from: texaskdog on January 25, 2012, 03:26:41 PM
People need to live closer to their jobs, just makes practical sense to begin with

Not always possible.  You try selling a house and moving in this economic climate.
"If you think this has a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention." - Ramsay Bolton

"Symbolic of his struggle against reality." - Reg

texaskdog

Quote from: Brandon on January 29, 2012, 04:17:15 PM
Quote from: texaskdog on January 25, 2012, 03:26:41 PM
People need to live closer to their jobs, just makes practical sense to begin with

Not always possible.  You try selling a house and moving in this economic climate.


Well it doesn't have to be tomorrow, and really I meant in general people deliberately buy far away from their jobs...usually for no particular reason.  Or they buy far away to get a good deal, then burn it all on gas.   Companies could help by offering 4-day work weeks or flexible scheduling...but usually they don't.

texaskdog

Quote from: Mdcastle on January 27, 2012, 10:30:03 PM
The current bridge isn't going anywhere anytime soon regardless of what happens.

That was one of the original hang-ups on this project. The present bridge had do be demolished because no net increase in crossings over the St. Croix River was allowed. But the present bridge couldn't be demolished because it's a historic site. Eventually it was decided the present bridge would not longer be a "crossing" since it will become non-motorized. The plan is to keep it as long as it is structurally sound, which could be many decades. Some rehab and deferred maintenance was done on it several years ago when it was clear the new bridge wasn't going to be built anytime soon.

Too bad there wasn't an old bridge somewhere they could have gotten rid of...stupid laws.

agentsteel53

Quote from: Mdcastle on January 27, 2012, 10:30:03 PMno net increase in crossings over the St. Croix River was allowed.

what kind of horse-hockey law is this??
live from sunny San Diego.

http://shields.aaroads.com

jake@aaroads.com

NE2

Probably the same one that keeps them from building Interstates in Yellowstone :)
http://www.rivers.gov/wsr-st-croix-lower.html
pre-1945 Florida route log

I accept and respect your identity as long as it's not dumb shit like "identifying as a vaccinated attack helicopter".

texaskdog

Quote from: NE2 on January 30, 2012, 01:55:29 PM
Probably the same one that keeps them from building Interstates in Yellowstone :)
http://www.rivers.gov/wsr-st-croix-lower.html

The only time there needs to be interestates in Yellowstone is in our fictional highway section :):):)

mightyace

Quote from: texaskdog on January 30, 2012, 01:46:54 PM
I meant in general people deliberately buy far away from their jobs...usually for no particular reason.
...
Companies could help by offering 4-day work weeks or flexible scheduling...but usually they don't.

I did it to get as far away from urban and suburban as I could.

Fortunately, I am able to work from home 1-3 days per week.
My Flickr Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mightyace

I'm out of this F***KING PLACE!

texaskdog

Quote from: mightyace on February 07, 2012, 11:30:54 PM
Quote from: texaskdog on January 30, 2012, 01:46:54 PM
I meant in general people deliberately buy far away from their jobs...usually for no particular reason.
...
Companies could help by offering 4-day work weeks or flexible scheduling...but usually they don't.

I did it to get as far away from urban and suburban as I could.

Fortunately, I am able to work from home 1-3 days per week.

That helps too!  More companies should do that.

froggie

Keep in mind that the same technology that allows people to work from home (i.e. teleworking) also allows companies to outsource those jobs overseas.

texaskdog

I love when people say "buy American" when that is such a clouded statement these days.

texaskdog

#44
I love national parks but beware this Nimby....letter I got today

Having lived there this bridge is way overdue

>
> Dear Friend of the National Parks,
>
> This week, the U.S. House of Representatives is considering
> legislation that threatens one of America's national
> parks. We need you to tell your representative to vote NO on
> S. 1134.
>
> http://my.npca.org/site/R?i=xrpCeagBvpJuGPJpKC9jCA
>
> At the same time park budgets face cuts, S. 1134 paves the way for the
> construction of a massive, freeway-style bridge over the St. Croix
> National Scenic Riverway in Minnesota. The St. Croix is a beautiful
> part of our National Park System, and was first protected under the
> Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, which protects other rivers all over
> America.
>
> A replacement bridge is needed, but not a mandate to build the most
> expensive bridge possible. The fiscally and environmentally
> irresponsible bridge mandated by this legislation would cost taxpayers
> $690 million to carry only 17,000 cars a day. To put that in
> context, the most expensive bridge ever completed in Minnesota, the
> I-35W bridge over the Mississippi River, cost $260 million only a few
> years ago to carry 140,000 vehicles per day.
>
> This bill also sets the worst possible precedent for circumventing
> protections and endangering other river parks around the country with
> mega-bridges or other inappropriate development. Never before in its
> more than 40-year history has the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act seen this
> kind of exemption.
>
> We need Congress to create monuments that protect our natural,
> cultural, and historic resources--not destroy them. We
> can--and must--do better than create this monument to waste.
>
> Take Action:
>
> http://my.npca.org/site/R?i=_mGvxmPqLIqLnjcexz8LBQ
>
> Tell your U.S. Representative to vote NO on S. 1134 and to not waste
> taxpayer dollars on a bridge that is too big, too expensive, and too
> destructive.
>
> Thank you for protecting the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway
> and speaking up for fiscal responsibility. Future generations
> will benefit from your action today.
>
> Sincerely
>
> Christine Goepfert
> Upper Midwest Program Manager
>


Post Merge: February 28, 2012, 09:15:50 PM

BTW this is not a national park, its a waterway, actually a river.  They've made numerous changes already to appease these people.  They make it sound like a freeway is going thru Yellowstone.

froggie

It's not a national park per se, but because of the St. Croix's status as a National Wild and Scenic River, NPS does have jurisdiction:

http://www.nps.gov/sacn/index.htm

texaskdog

Quote from: froggie on February 29, 2012, 06:13:56 PM
It's not a national park per se, but because of the St. Croix's status as a National Wild and Scenic River, NPS does have jurisdiction:

http://www.nps.gov/sacn/index.htm


True, but this woman is attempting to use shock value to get people to write letters.  Getting people from other states to "defend this national park"

mgk920

No links immediately handy, but I just got word that the USHouse just passed the bill to allow construction of the new Stillwater bridge by a 339-88 vote.

:cool:

Mike

twinsfan87


texaskdog

Quote from: mgk920 on March 01, 2012, 11:09:40 AM
No links immediately handy, but I just got word that the USHouse just passed the bill to allow construction of the new Stillwater bridge by a 339-88 vote.

:cool:

Mike

Nice.  Good job, peeps!



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