County Road M bridge in Star Prairie is set for replacement

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The Apple River bridge at County Road M is slated for replacement under the recently announced Local Bridge Improvement Assistance Program.

According to St. Croix County Highway Commissioner Tim Ramberg, it will likely be several years before the bridge is actually replaced. The engineering alone will likely take a year to complete.

“The M bridge is going to be heavily involved because of all the utilities hanging on it,” Ramberg said. “It may take a while.”

The bridge replacement is slated to be completed sometime before 2014, Ramberg said. He said the bridge is structurally sound, but has scored low on the state’s point system and its time for replacement has come.

When the bridge replacement begins, Ramberg said he expects the project to be completed in a couple months.

During that time, traffic will likely be detoured on County Road M or Highway 65.

The Star Prairie project is part of $48.9 million in funding for 209 bridge projects along Wisconsin’s approximately 100,000-mile local roads system. This program provides 80 percent federal or state funding to replace or rehabilitate deteriorating bridges and requires a 20 percent local funding share.

Ramberg said the federal funding is 80 percent of “eligible costs,” so the county’s portion may end up being a little more than the 20 percent.

In Wisconsin, county officials set priorities for local bridge and highway improvement projects. While construction timetables for the approved projects vary, most of the work is expected to be completed over the next three to five years.

Along with the Apple River bridge, other St. Croix County projects include replacement of the Willow River bridge on Trout Brook Road in the Town of Hudson and the Carr Creek Bridge on 90th Avenue in the Town of Baldwin.

Tags: star prairie, communities