A federal judge on Thursday blocked a proposed $668 million St. Croix River bridge on grounds it violates the Wild and Scenic River Act.
Judge Michael Davis ruled that the National Park Service (NPS), in approving the proposal, ignored its contrary position in 1996 that a "massive" bridge south of Stillwater would have a "dramatic and disruptive" affect on the river's scenery.
It's uncertain what will happen next until the 93-page ruling is reviewed, said Chris Stein, superintendent of the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway, which the NPS manages. Stein said he did not know whether the Park Service would appeal the ruling.
The bitter war to build a bridge on one of the region's most scenic and best-known waterways began more than 40 years ago. Even then, there was a desire to replace the 1931 Stillwater lift bridge that was built for occasional small vehicles traveling between Minnesota and Wisconsin.
In recent years, at least 16,000 vehicles a day cross the lift bridge, leading to traffic backups in downtown Stillwater and delays when the lift section is raised to let boats pass underneath.
The most recent court hearing was Sept. 14, when the Sierra Club said a four-lane bridge would ruin the scenic riverway and hurry contamination of the Lower St. Croix, a federally protected river that the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency lists as impaired.
"It's important for everybody to understand that we don't celebrate lawsuits," Sierra Club spokesman Jim Rickard said Thursday. "We'd much rather take a collaborative track. If there's a victory to be declared, it's a victory for the river."
But Gary Kriesel, a Washington County commissioner who favors a new bridge in part to relieve traffic congestion leading to Stillwater's aging lift bridge, said he was disappointed in the ruling and angry with the Sierra Club.