Baudette, Minnesota/Rainy River,
Ontario International Bridge
Location
Location
 US and Canadian Customs
facilities are at each end of
the bridge approach
 Alignment on US side made
challenging by US Customs
equipment, City park,
substation and
archeological sites
 Alignment on Canadian side
expected to be less affected
by Customs location, but
archeological and other
issues may still exist
History
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This bridge provides access to Baudette, Minnesota and Rainy
River, Ontario, a connection between the United States and
Canada as well as a full-service, 24-hour Port of Entry
Originally built in 1959 by the Cities of Baudette, MN and
Rainy River, ON
The bridge has a total length of 1,285 feet and accomodates
a 2-lane roadway with a width of 24 feet and an open grate
steel deck
Operated locally as a toll bridge until 1988, when ownership
was taken over by the Minnesota Department of
Transportation (MnDOT) and the Ministry of Transportation,
Ontario (MTO)
Project Purpose
 The
current project was initiated to
address structural issues and the
long-term need to continue providing
a safe and reliable river crossing at
this location
 The
bridge is classified as fracture
critical (non redundant)
Wooden Walkway
Open Steel Deck
Floor Beam Corrosion
Low Vertical Clearance
Project Details
Bridge
was found ineligible for
inclusion on the Ontario Heritage
Bridge List
MTO
provided a position paper to
the MnDOT stating MTO does not
consider rehabilitation viable
Project Details
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Bridge is eligible for the National Register of
Historical Places in the United States
MnDOT is nearly complete with its
rehabilitation study
Next steps will be to work through Section
106 of the National Historic Preservation Act
and likely Section 4(f) of the Department of
Transportation Act
Project Details
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In the meantime,
concurrent work has
begun looking at
replacement
Initial discussions were
focused on developing
project separately
This approach potentially
solved some of the
bureaucratic concerns,
but it created others……
Project Details
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Current approach is to have MnDOT lead (with close
coordination with MTO) the environmental
documentation, preliminary design, structure type
study and early stakeholder coordination of the
project
Work is underway to develop a cost-sharing
agreement
Consultant will be required to either have offices in
both the US and Canada, or at least partnering with
approved firms on both sides of the border
Handling of detail design and construction will be
decided in the future
Project Details
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Presidential Permit not required
◦ Congressional Authorized Bridge under International
Bridge Act of 1972
◦ Existing owners of congressional authorized bridges
may replace, repair or expand their existing bridges
without further State Department approval
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Early consultant effort ongoing
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Compile agency stakeholder list with contact information
Compile list of permits/approvals needed
Anticipated duration for obtaining permits/approvals
Comparison of design standards/requirements between
MnDOT and MTO
Project Details
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Potential Agency Stakeholders:
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MN SHPO
MN DNR
USACE
FHWA
US Customs
US State Department
US Coast Guard
GSA
Ontario Ministry of the Environment
Department of Fisheries and Oceans
Division of Water Quality
Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources
First Nations
Transport Canada, Navigable Waters
Canadian Border Service Agency
Project Timeline
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A detailed critical path
schedule has been
developed
 Schedule shows 300 days of
float given a late summer
2013 consultant notice to
proceed and letting date of
November 2017
 Project needs to be let no
later than April 2018 to take
advantage of Minnesota
bonding dollars
 Current schedule only
includes MnDOT processes
 Need to allow procurement
time for detail design
consultant
Questions??