The Stillwater Lift Bridge, which links Minnesota and Wisconsin over the St. Croix River, reopened Monday afternoon, representing perhaps a key milestone in the flood season of 2011.
The 80-year-old bridge, used by about 18,000 drivers per day, had been closed since April 8 because of high water approaching the bridge deck and electrical lift motors.
Bridges over the Minnesota River at Shakopee and Jordan remain closed, and highways from the Red River Valley on the state's western border to the southeast corner also remain closed due to flooding.
But floodwaters continue to ebb steadily away from Minnesota. At St. Paul, the Mississippi River was down 2 feet Sunday from its March 29 crest, and is expected to drop more than 3 more feet there by early next week. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers also reopened the lock and dam downstream at Alma, Wis., Saturday. It had been closed since Monday due to high water and debris, effectively stopping barge traffic.
The only river still yet to crest in Minnesota is the north-flowing Red. It reached its third-highest crest on record Thursday at Grand Forks but had dropped more than 2 feet by Sunday.
But 25 miles downstream at Oslo, Minn., the river, which is normally about 100 feet across, was cresting and was 6 miles wide Sunday, said Mayor Scott Kosmatka.
Gov. Mark Dayton and Rep. Collin Peterson helicoptered into the city Sunday to visit with residents who, by remaining since floodwaters rose, have been marooned behind dikes for a week. Kosmatka said he discussed with Dayton the need to raise two highways that pass through Oslo so they can remain dry. That action has been prevented for nearly 30 years by a court decision, Kosmatka said.
This is the third year in a row the city of 349 people has been cut off by floodwater. Some who work or go to school elsewhere take boats to cars they've parked miles away. But Kosmatka, who runs a grocery store in town, hasn't left for seven days and said it looks like another five to seven more before he can. "People become very accustomed to that," he said. "But I find myself getting kind of buggy."
