Lawmakers want moratorium lifted on swing bridge
Area lawmakers are pushing to get a demolition moratorium lifted on the 115-year old Roch Island Swing Bridge in Inver Grove Heights, according to the House.
But they don’t want it torn down.
Instead, Rep. Joe Atkins, DFL-Inver Grove Heights, and Sen. Jim Metzen, DFL-South St. Paul, want the moratorium lifted a year early so that restoration work can begin on the bridge this summer.
As long as the moratorium stands, nothing can be done to the swing bridge.
Local efforts to raise funding have been successful — more than $1.5 million in private and public donations have been pledged.
Inver Grove Heights is willing to take over ownership of the bridge.
The Minnesota Department of Transportation has agreed to use dollars slated for tearing the bridge to help renovate it.
The lawmakers herald the speed at which fund raising efforts proved successful.
