High water closes bridge in Stillwater

Published 10:15 am Monday, June 23, 2014

STILLWATER — A bridge connecting Minnesota and Wisconsin will be closed indefinitely starting toay because of high water, officials said Sunday, as authorities around the state braced for flooding from bulging streams and rivers.

The Stillwater Lift Bridge over the St. Croix River, which joins Minnesota Highway 36 and Wisconsin Highway 64, will be closed to traffic in both directions from this morning until further notice, the Minnesota Department of Transportation announced. Drivers are being told to use Interstate 94 or Highway 243 instead.

Meanwhile, officials across Minnesota are preparing for high waters to crest in the coming days.

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“Right now what we’re seeing is a statewide disaster, really,” U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar said Sunday. “From International Falls on the Canadian border down to Luverne on the Iowa border, it really covered the whole state.”

Reports said that Klobuchar visited an apartment complex in the city, where 39 families were displaced when lower-level units flooded, as part of her tour to survey flood damage around the state.