Commuters and cabin-goers, circle this date on your calendar: Aug. 3, 2017. That’s the date by which the new St. Croix River bridge will open for traffic. So says Terry Zoller, construction manager.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the bridge at 10 a.m. Aug. 2, and the bridge will be ready for crossing within 24 hours of the ceremony, Zoller said.

Zoller, who lives in Stillwater, would not give a specific time for the opening but provided a hint: The bridge will not open during rush hour.

Zoller’s job as construction manager is to oversee building a bridge that will be a little less than a mile long — 5,100 feet — with more than 600,000 square feet of deck area, making it Minnesota’s seventh-longest bridge and second-largest by deck area.

The project — estimated to cost up to $646 million — also includes building three miles of four-lane highway for Wisconsin 35 and rebuilding about three miles of Minnesota 36 and 95.

Foundation work in the river began in spring 2013.

The new bridge connects Oak Park Heights and St. Joseph, Wis., and will replace the Stillwater Lift Bridge for vehicle traffic.

Zoller, who has worked for MnDOT for 45 years, took on the duties of manager for the St. Croix project in June 2012. He is 66.

He said he plans to retire right after the bridge opens.

“I always said, ‘They cut the ribbon, I’m gone,’” he said. “I’m taking the first exit to the right — to Stillwater — and I’m going to keep on going.”

Terry Zoller, St. Croix Crossing construction manager, checks the progress on Sept. 16, 2016. He plans to retire when the bridge opens in 2017. (Pioneer Press: Jean Pieri)

All photos and content from the Pioneer Press.