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State Representative Matt Dean

301 State Office BuildingState Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-3018

For more information contact: House GOP Communications 651-296-5520

Posted: 2009-03-25 00:00:00
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PRESS RELEASE

VANDEVEER AND DEAN INTRODUCE LEGISLATION TO PROTECT THE STILLWATER LIFT BRIDGE: House bill passes second committee hurdle

ST PAUL – Responding to a request from the mayor of Stillwater and citing safety concerns and a history of chronic traffic congestion in downtown, State Representative Matt Dean [R-Dellwood] and State Senator Ray Vandeveer [R-Forest Lake] have introduced legislation that would restrict trucks weighing more than 26,000 pounds from using Trunk Highway 36 over the St. Croix River; more commonly referred to as the Stillwater Lift Bridge. The bills, House File 1204 and Senate File 1091 were re-introduced on March 2, 2009. Last night the bill passed out of the House Transportation Policy Committee while the Senate bill has passed through the committee process and is currently on the Senate floor awaiting final passage.
“This bill is about protecting the people that cross the Stillwater Lift Bridge every day, the pedestrians and businesses downtown, as well as the law,” said Rep. Dean. “It is unfortunate that a bridge collapse is what has led to a reappraisal of our transportation infrastructure, but the people that use this bridge everyday have known for years that this is a situation that needs to be addressed.”
While current limits on the bridge allows vehicles weighing as much as 80,000 pounds to cross, a 2008 review by the Minnesota Department of Transportation rated the Stillwater Lift Bridge as “Fracture Critical” with a score a rating below what the I-35W bridge received prior to its collapse.
Since Dean and Vandeveer originally introduced the bill in 2007, two trucks have struck the bridge. The first incident was last August which resulted in the bridge being closed for several weeks for inspection and repair. The second accident occurred last week

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