The Stillwater Lift Bridge, closed earlier this week amid flood fears, reopened to traffic just before 10 p.m. Friday.
The two-lane bridge, which funnels about 16,000 vehicles a day between Minnesota and Wisconsin, was closed Tuesday after the St. Croix River rose to the girders that support it.
Initially, it was thought the bridge might have to be closed for a week or more. But the state Department of Transportation announced Friday afternoon that water levels had dropped to safe levels, and that work had begun to remove barricades and reconnect the bridge's electrical components.
According to the National Weather Service, the river's water level will continue to fall slowly through early April.
ANTHONY LONETREE
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