St Croix Barge Traffic

Just a heads up. Don’t see many barges running up the Croix. Might not want to be anchored up in the Kinny narrows when one of these passes through!

http://kstp.com/news/stories/S3738215.shtml?cat=127

Updated: 03/17/2015 6:24 PM
Created: 03/17/2015 5:05 PM KSTP.com
By: Joe Mazan
The St. Croix Crossing Bridge is moving ahead full force and we got a close up look at the progress being made.
The Minnesota Department of Transportation showed KSTP the Grey Cloud Casting Yard in Cottage Grove that’s making 650 segments, which will become the bridge’s driving surface.
Quick Facts on the St. Croix Crossing Project Grey Cloud Island casting yard:
Construction crews will produce 650 segments from five casting beds.
Each Segment is 48 feet wide, 18 feet tall and weighs 170 tons.
The first river bridge segment will be installed in spring of 2015.
Segments will get barged on the Mississippi River and St. Croix River to the project site once the project is ready.
An additional 330 segments will be produced.
“They will be barged down the Mississippi River and then up the Saint Croix River, a trip of about thirty miles in total,” Paul Kivisto MnDOT Bridge Construction Manager said.
They will start putting up the segments in May.
The bridge will connect Wisconsin and Minnesota when it opens to traffic in the fall of 2016.

-J.

I wonder how big these barges are? Its been around 15 years since they dredged the kinny and Afton channel.With the lack of snow run off it could be low water levels this year.
Wasn’t part of the reason for the Army corp to stop pulling bouyies was the lack of dreadging makeing it harder to monoover?

This could get interesting.

Very interesting. I would like to see them in the channel but hopefully they dont try it on opener or any weekend for that matter.

The “most interesting ” part IMO is when they go through the swing bridge. There is about three feet on each side for clearance!

Yeah kinni is plenty deep, catfish bar probably shallower. Swing bridge i’m betting they’re bumping and grinding on it the whole way through.

I don’t see nothing wrong with a little bump and grind.

Will be fun to sit in the cut on the south side of bridge and watch

Ralph Wiggum wrote:

I don’t see nothing wrong with a little bump and grind.

Are you still talking barge and bridge or we on a new topic?
Just wondering.

Can’t wait till the big dumb boats encounter the barge traffic. Maybe they will buzz them instead of us fisherman.

Do you think the sail boaters will try and run down the the barges also. You know they rule since they are under wind power