Kellogg Bridge set to open in St Paul after multi-year construction

One of St. Paul's most unique, expensive and time-consuming infrastructure projects of the 21st century is now just weeks away from opening for good.

The Kellogg-3rd Street bridge will open to traffic mid-November, after a two-year construction that totaled nearly $100 million in cost.

Saturday, city and state leaders joined together to cut a ceremonial ribbon, marking the opening of the bridge to pedestrian traffic.

"This was an enormous feat that goes into making this happen," said St. Paul Public Works Director Sean Kershaw. "I'm super proud to be here, but really for all the folks in public works and behind me that made this happen."

Kershaw and other leaders say the impact from the bridge is its connection of downtown St. Paul to the city's east side.

"We know that the community needs this investment," said St. Paul City Council Member Cheniqua Johnson. "Projects like the Kellogg bridge don't come often. Right now, we're witnessing history in the making."

The new bridge is over 2,000 feet long, and spans over 1-94 and one of the busiest railways in the Midwest, per city leaders. The bridge itself has four lanes of vehicle traffic, and 12-foot trails on either side for walking or riding.

It is set to open to vehicle traffic in Mid-November.