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Chandra Colvin

St. Paul’s Kellogg Boulevard bridge closes for 3-year construction project

A city view with a car passing over a bridge.
The City of St. Paul will close the Kellogg Boulevard and Third Street bridge for a three year, $70 million construction project to update the layout and accommodate more walking, biking and transit traffic.
Matt Mikus | MPR News

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The Kellogg Boulevard and Third Street bridge in St. Paul closed Monday for a construction project, which is expected to last three years with a cost of roughly $91 million.

Funding for the project comes from a federal grant, state bonding and transportation legislation, municipal state aid and the city’s local capital investment program.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar was in attendance for the start of the project. She says the new bridge will benefit St. Paul residents.  

People shovel dirt
City and State Officials mark the start of construction on Kellogg and Third Street Bridge on Monday in St. Paul.
Chanda Colvin | MPR News

“Four lanes of traffic, barriers to separate pedestrian and bike trails for safety. Safe intersections, it’s going to be a gamechanger for anyone who drives or walks or bikes between the east side and downtown St. Paul,” Klobuchar said.

The long-awaited project is 10 years in the making, after a 2014 analysis found several structural inadequacies on the outer portions of deck. The city permanently reduced traffic lanes and sidewalk width to ensure the safety of drivers and pedestrians.  

State Rep. María Isa Pérez-Vega, DFL-St. Paul, said it was important to ensure that the safety and infrastructure concerns surrounding the bridge were addressed.  

“If our capitol city isn't shining with our bridges, with housing, with businesses, with all the infrastructure that comes from clean water and energy, then what does that reflect about our state?" Pérez-Vega said. 

Road construction equipment
Construction vehicle at Kellogg and Third Street bridge during the press conference on Monday in St. Paul.
Chanda Colvin | MPR News

 

Approval and funding was secured in 2020, but officials said construction could not begin until this summer due to COVID-19, design and supply chain issues and inflation.

Mayor Melvin Carter said nearly 14,000 cars drove over the bridge daily, linking downtown St. Paul and the city’s east side. It is St. Paul’s longest city-owned bridge and also connects to major roadways, such as I-94 and one of the busiest railroad track junctions in the Midwest.

Vehicles will be rerouted to East Seventh Street. Pedestrian and bike traffic will be rerouted onto Mounds Boulevard.