New Blatnik Bridge Connecting Minnesota, Wisconsin Gets $1B Funding Boost from USDOT
The new structure will follow the alignment of the 65-year-old bridge, which faces weight restrictions, and will include a shared-use...
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The U.S. Department of Transportation has signed a $1.05 billion check to fund plans by Minnesota and Wisconsin to replace a 65-year-old bridge connecting the two states.
The money will be used for the I-535 Blatnik Bridge project to replace the aging structure on I-535 connecting Duluth, Minnesota, and Superior, Wisconsin, over the St. Louis Bay. The project’s total estimated cost sits at $1.815 billion. The states will split the remaining costs.
The Blatnik Bridge is one of two bridges that connects the two cities and carries 33,000 vehicles daily. It is jointly owned by MnDOT and WisDOT and is the second-longest bridge in Minnesota. Without a replacement, the bridge — a critical access route to the Port of Duluth-Superior that currently faces weight restrictions and traffic safety issues — would close in 2030.
The new bridge will be either a tied-arch or a cable-stay design and is expected to have a service life of 100 years. A contractor and final design for the project have not yet been selected.
The new structure will follow the alignment of the original bridge and add a shared-use path and a new interchange into Superior. Both states aim to address aging infrastructure and improve safety and accommodations for oversized and overweight loads.
In January 2024, the project was awarded $1 billion in federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funds from the Multimodal Project Discretionary Grant under the MEGA and INFRA program categories.
The $1 billion in delivered funds was “set aside” in January 2024 by the Biden administration when they “failed to do the necessary work to obligate these critical dollars,” according to a March 17 press release from USDOT. The department further stated the Biden administration passed over the MnDOT’s application for the funds.
The bridge’s current construction schedule has final designs wrapping up in 2027, phased construction beginning in 2026, and final cleanup and landscaping taking place in 2032.
