Construction is now underway at the Blatnik Bridge, which will be replaced over the next several years.
The Blatnik Bridge is one of two that connects Duluth, Minnesota and Superior, Wisconsin. It was first opened to traffic in 1961, and without help, it would have had to close by 2030, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation.
The cost to replace the bridge is $1.8 billion and MnDOT will lead the bridge replacement project, which will address aging infrastructure, improve safety and better accommodate oversize/overweight loads.
"It was done in a manner that was bipartisan," Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said about securing the funding. "It's very, very difficult to get a bipartisan agreement. But the senators that you have sitting here and the folks that worked on this in the statehouses in Wisconsin and Minnesota found a way to do exactly that, and I think that is a model for how much of this can be done."
Early construction is beginning now, and officials say the bridge is going to close completely at the start of 2027.
Walz was joined by Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers at the ground-breaking on Monday.
"The economic development, it's going to create not just from the building of it, but from all of the transportation that goes across it, is immense," Walz added.
Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, also running to replace Walz in the Governor's office, was also on hand. She talked about the significance of the bridge beyond economics.
"Every day more than 30,000 cars and trucks pass over this bridge, and every year almost $4 billion worth of goods cross this bridge," she said. "I'm thinking about the school teacher from Duluth who takes a bridge to get to Superior High School, or the senior citizens in Superior who gets rides over the bridge to get to doctor's appointments."
The bridge is considered to be an essential link between Superior and Duluth via Interstate 535 and US Highway 53.
Jointly owned and managed by MnDOT and WisDOT, it is Minnesota's second longest bridge and serves an average of 33,000 cars traveling between the two cities each day.
In early 2024, the two agencies received more than $1 billion in federal funding to replace the aging bridge. Both states are also contributing funding for the project.
The cost to replace the bridge is $1.8 billion and MnDOT will lead the bridge replacement project, which will address aging infrastructure, improve safety and better accommodate oversize/overweight loads.
(Minnesota Department of Transportation)
