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The survey was commissioned by the Winona Bridge Coalition, a group of residents, business owners and public officials who want to influence the Minnesota Department of Transportation’s plan to replace the Interstate Bridge by 2014. The survey is the first step toward gathering the information needed to give MnDOT officials a broad picture of public views on the new bridge, said a spokeswoman for the Winona Area Chamber of Commerce, which conducted the survey.
“We’re talking about issues and needs, then asking MnDOT … to factor that in,” chamber president Della Schmidt said.
Schmidt said a first step in the process is identifying “non-negotiables,” or elements that MnDOT must address in its new-bridge plans. She said the June closure of the bridge — shut down for about two weeks when inspectors found rusty gusset plates — highlighted the first example: that the current bridge must stay open during construction of a new span. The plan also must accommodate barge traffic on Winona’s port and must not demolish any buildings on the National Historic Register, suggested attendees at a Tuesday meeting hosted by the chamber.
The new survey, which included input from 70 downtown business owners, didn’t ask respondents about specific sites or designs for the new bridge. Instead it posed more general questions, such as whether the new bridge design should help reduce semitrailer traffic downtown — an objective identified in Winona’s comprehensive plan. More than 63 percent of the respondents said it is either somewhat or not important that the new bridge meet that criterion — a response that Schmidt called “surprising.”
The chamber will hold another, similar focus group meeting at 7:30 a.m. Thursday at Merchants Bank. In the next two months, Schmidt said the chamber also will meet with businesses from the larger Winona region and with Wisconsin businesses.
MnDOT officials have said they will hire a consulting firm to begin planning the bridge by this fall.
Contact Mark Sommerhauser at (507) 453-3514 or msommerhauser@winonadailynews.com
