Stillwater Lift Bridge to close due to river crest
The Minnesota Department of Transportation says it will close the Stillwater Lift Bridge Friday at 9 a.m.
The closure comes in advance of the National Weather Service's predicted second crest of the St. Croix River at about 688 feet on Tuesday. That's lower than previously forecast.
Stillwater Public Works director Shawn Sanders says the city is preparing by fortifying existing levees.
"We had jersey barriers in place in case we had to build a dike using sand to a higher elevation, but now since the river's not expected to go as high as what they had predicted earlier in the month, what we're doing now is we're just placing poly and sandbags behind the jersey barriers," said Sanders.
Sanders says the city will call in a contractor to build a more comprehensive temporary levee if waters rise higher than predicted. Stillwater police started patrolling levees Thursday.
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