STILLWATER, MN Minnesota Loop Trail construction as part of the St. Croix Crossing project is underway. The contractor, Veit, is securing a historic wall along the future trail and removing some trees and other vegetation.

Loop Trail construction will take place in phases from 2015 to 2017. This year's construction will focus on the stretch of trail from north of Sunnyside Marina to north of Nelson Street in downtown Stillwater. Trail sections will be open for use after they are constructed.

The 4.7-mile trail will accommodate bicycle and pedestrian traffic and use a designated lane on the new St. Croix Crossing and the existing Stillwater Lift Bridge, which will be converted to a bicycle/pedestrian bridge once the new bridge is open to traffic. The Loop Trail will also connect to existing local and regional trails in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

In addition, St. Croix Crossing bridge construction is approaching another important milestone, even with the recent announcements of anticipated delays.

"This is a very complex engineering project," said Commissioner Charlie Zelle, Minnesota Department of Transportation (MinnesotaDOT). "This is only the second major bridge of its type built in the U.S. and the methods of construction are taking longer than anticipated."

The project had planned to open the bridge to traffic in the fall of 2016. Zelle said the work would continue into 2017. MinnesotaDOT, Wisconsin Department of Transportation and Lunda/Ames Joint Venture are currently working together on a new schedule.

"We will announce the new completion date before the end of this year," Zelle said. "While we know that residents of this region want the bridge to be open for traffic as soon as possible, our highest priority is to complete the project safely and to the high standards we've set for it."

Zelle added that the roadwork on the Minnesota side on Highway 36 is complete and that the Highway 64 roadwork on the Wisconsin side of the project is underway and on schedule.