Future of Inver Grove Heights swing bridge is tangled among 10 agencies

A proposal to turn the old Rock Island Swing Bridge in Inver Grove Heights into a 670-foot public pier on the Mississippi River faces a potential washout because of a bureaucratic mess.

With at least 10 local, state and federal agencies involved, there are disagreements over who owns the bridge and who should pay for removal of unusable parts.

If those issues aren't resolved in coming weeks, the city could lose $1.4 million in grant money that would pay for most of the pier, said Eric Carlson, Inver Grove Heights parks and recreation director.

"We're running out of time," he said.

The City Council's vision is to reuse three existing piers and restore the bridge to a recreational pier reaching to the middle of the Mississippi River. The pier would connect to Dakota County's Regional Trail.

The bridge was built in 1895 as a double-decker that served trains and cars. It later became a toll bridge. It was closed in 1999 after being deemed unsafe for traffic.

The city is now in a tricky situation, with the U.S. Coast Guard demanding cleanup of unusable bridge parts and the state refusing to take on that responsibility.

But Pawlenty, in a letter to Inver Grove Heights Mayor George Tourville on Aug. 18, pointed to new DFL legislation that placed a moratorium on work on the bridge.

Pawlenty noted the moratorium prohibits all public bodies "from demolishing or otherwise removing all or any portion" of the old Rock Island Swing Bridge, or "causing its demolition or removal."

Some, including Pawlenty, interpret that language as saying no work can be done.

City officials see it differently.

"The city believes that when the Legislature convenes in January, the moratorium can be lifted and then construction can commence," Carlson said.

"These agencies are all sitting there pointing fingers at each other, and what we needed is for the governor to tell them, "'Hey, you should all work together,'" Tourville said.

Tourville said nobody can agree on who owns the tax-forfeited bridge, who should turn over the deed to the city, or who should pay for removal of the unusable parts.

"We feel it's necessary for the state of Minnesota to step forward and to fund the removal of the pieces of the bridge that aren't going to be used for the project," Carlson said. "We believe that currently the entire structure is owned by the state of Minnesota."

The bridge sits on the riverbed, to which the state holds ownership, he said. The city wants the state to give it the deed to the bridge.

Officials at the state Revenue Department contend that Dakota County is the lead agency to give ownership of the bridge. Dakota County officials disagree.

Dakota and Washington counties had begun demolishing the bridge last year after part of it crumbled on the Washington County bank. Then, Inver Grove Heights stepped forward with its proposal.

The parts that are to be removed include a pier in the navigable channel on the Dakota County side. On the Washington County side are a pier for a missing swing span and other parts to be removed.

The city has a $1.3 million federal grant and a $100,000 grant from the Minnesota Historical Society for the project.

Inver Grove Heights would need another $870,000 to complete the work.