By Jim Lundstrom
Imagine the early years of Superior and Duluth when ferries were the only means of transport between the two growing cities. Officials and businessmen on both sides knew there had to be a better way to conduct commerce. Discussions for a bridge across the St. Louis River began in the early 1890s.
After much political jockeying, the Duluth-Superior Bridge Company was formed in 1894 with the mission to oversee the building of a multi-use bridge from Rice’s Point in Duluth to Connor’s Point in Superior, a distance of about 2,150 feet, or just short of a half-mile.
The interstate toll bridge opened July 13, 1897, with two sets of tracks for trains and street cars, as well as a platform on the west side for wagons, horses, bicyclists and pedestrians. Shipping traffic was accommodated by a 481-foot swing span, the largest in the world at the time. The bridge was eventually refitted to carry cars and trucks. The street car line was removed in 1938.
As early as the 1930s, folks on both sides were thinking of a replacement for the toll bridge. Some prominent voices in Superior were calling for a tunnel rather than a bridge. Duluthians were all for a bridge. The cities were ordered by their state legislatures to work together to come up with a plan, but World War II intervened and thoughts of a new bridge were set aside.
When the Federal Highway Act of 1956 was passed to create more than 40,000 miles of interstate highways at a cost of $25 billion, a project then-Secretary of Commerce Sinclair Weeks called “the greatest public works program in the history of the world,” the decision was made that a new bridge between the two cities should be included in the works.
In December 1961, the mile and a half-long High Bridge, built at a cost of $15 million, opened to traffic. In 1971, the bridge was renamed for U.S. Congressman John A. Blatnik, who was an advocate for the bridge during his 13 terms he was elected to represent Minnesota’s 8th District.
Originally designed to carry about 14,000 vehicles daily, in the 21st century the Blatnik was serving more than 30,000 vehicles daily, causing weight restrictions to be applied for large trucks, which posed a problem for a bridge that serves
as an interstate link for 265,000 trucks that transport nearly $4 billion worth of goods annually.
“Realistically, what we should be doing is looking out of state, throughout the United States, for a bridge project or a connectability challenge to the tune of nearly $2 billion over the course of multiple years to say, you’ve been through it. What should we watch out for?”
– Taylor Pedersen, president and CEO – the Superior-Douglas County Area Chamber of Commerce
Back in 2018, a Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) team began analysis of traffic routing in Superior for the Blatnik Bridge replacement. Since 2020, WisDOT and members of the Minnesota Department of Transportation have been discussing the future of the Blatnik Bridge. Determining that the bridge had only 10 good years left, plans for a replacement bridge began, but it was not until January 2024 when the federal government announced funding for 11 infrastructure projects across the country, with the Blatnik Bridge replacement at the top of the list for funding at $1.06 billion, that the replacement bridge became more than a talking point.
“We’re talking about one of the most economically significant bridges in the country,” Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said about the Blatnik shortly after the funding announcement. “We’re also talking about a critical facility that was potentially just a few years away from being out of service.”
State transportation officials on both sides of the bridge were well prepared for the funding announcement, and meetings were scheduled to keep the public abreast of plans to close and replace the Blatnik Bridge. In October two meetings were held – one for potential contractors working on the bridge and another to outline plans for the public. In early November another meeting was held for the business community to hear how other municipalities have survived long-term construction projects.
In addition to talking about traffic routing at the Nov. 6 meeting, WisDOT Northwest Region Project Development Manager Paul Conlin outlined the project timeline.
“Our folks are going through a lot of efforts right now to put funding in order so that we can actually move forward. Starting next summer, we’re going to start the procurement process,” Conlin said. “What that means is we’re going to start trying to get a design-build contractor on board. That starts with a statement of qualifications next summer, June-ish timeframe, where we put the project out on the street. Design-build teams will put in their qualifications to us.
“We’ll make a selection next fall, and we’ll put the project out and request for proposals in late December. We’ll work through an RFP (request for proposal) process through the spring of 2026 and open up those proposals and make a selection in June of 2026. So, from the time we make the selection, we go through all the administration stuff to get a contractor.
“We’re likely to see some work happening in the fall of 2026, but the major work, the stuff that we’re familiar with, the cranes and all that, you’re going to see in the spring of 2027. That’s more than likely when the detour is going to take effect.”
It quickly became apparent at the November meeting that this is not like most other long-term municipal construction projects, so talking to other communities about how they survived is really an apples and oranges situation. And it was made abundantly clear that right now there are more questions than answers about how an extra 20,000 or more vehicles daily on the Bong Bridge – which usually sees about 16,100 vehicles daily – will affect travel and routing in both Superior and Duluth’s West End. But since actual construction won’t begin until 2026, now is a good time to start strategizing for the bridge closure.
The business meeting featured several live speakers and a not-so-successful Zoom presentation with business people who lived through major construction projects, including former Duluth Area Chamber of Commerce official Linda Jurek, who now leads the Cook County Chamber of Commerce, and Jennifer Hansen, Director of Main Street Lincoln Park and Business Sustainability, both of whom shared ideas on how to survive a major construction project.
“We’re likely to see some work happening in the fall of 2026, but the major work, the stuff that we’re familiar with, the cranes and all that, you’re going to see in the spring of 2027.”
– Paul Conlin, Northwest Region Project Development Manager – WisDOT
“The simple truth of it is, this is the first project of its magnitude in both Wisconsin and Minnesota. The reality of it is there’s not a great example you can relate it to in either state,” said Taylor Pedersen, president and CEO of the Superior-Douglas County Area Chamber of Commerce. “So, realistically, what we should be doing is looking out of state, throughout the United States, for a bridge project or a connectability challenge to the tune of nearly $2 billion over the course of multiple years to say, you’ve been through it. What should we watch out for? What should we plan for?”
Pedersen has been in the thick of things from the start, serving on three different Blatnik Bridge committees.
“I’ve easily been to a dozen meetings on the Blatnik, but this is the first one of its kind,” Pedersen said after the Nov. 6 meeting with business owners. “Yes, I think there’s still many details they need to figure out. They are doing a formal planning and execution process, but there’s a lot that needs to be figured out before construction happens. And hopefully this was a productive meeting for everybody just from a standpoint of to get in the right mindset, to start thinking ahead, to be prepared for what could be a challenging four years. I think there needs to be good communication moving forward. And we have to stay positive. But at the end of the day, we need to plan accordingly. And this isn’t a boilerplate construction project. It’s the first of its kind.”
Mark Manion was one of the businesspeople who attended the meeting with a question for the transportation folks about how the roundabout that leads from Belknap Street to the Bong Bridge can possibly accommodate the increased traffic.
Speaking after the meeting from his office at Manion Wholesale Building Supply at 1300 Garfield Avenue, Manion said he has a view of the roundabout.
“The bridge has to come, and when it’s done, it’ll be wonderful. We all know that, but it’s going to get a little complicated,” he said. “I just wanted to know about traffic flow, because that’s what concerns me. It’s a common practice to see on a Thursday or Friday afternoon, or any day actually, at four o’clock when they did close the other bridge, to see the traffic back up at the roundabout. Right now, I’m looking out the window, I’m looking at the roundabout. There’s a lot of people that don’t understand how they work.
Yeah, still. I just watched 10 cars from Minnesota to Wisconsin. There’s a yield sign at 15 miles an hour. Not one so far has yielded.”
Conlin outlined some of the routing change ideas (see sidebar).
“We’re identifying needs and potential solutions,” he said. “The design-build contractor is kind of on the hook to put together a plan and proposal that meets or exceeds what we anticipate. They can use creativity because they know how they’re going to build this thing. So we’re going to give that flexibility to give us something better, but we’re going to establish a minimum criteria.”
“I like some of the things that came out of that meeting, just with the idea of we have to think of the opportunities, not the negatives.”
– Russ Salgy, president – West Duluth Business Club
Manion also wonders what will happen to businesses at the foot of the Blatnik Bridge. Officially, five businesses near the bridge are being impacted with either full or partial
relocation – Superior Lidgerwood-Mundy at 302 Grand Avenue, Great Lakes Electrical Equipment at 320 Baxter Avenue, Allstate Peterbilt of Superior at 211 Hammond Avenue, Halvor Lines at 217 Grand Avenue, and Twin Ports Testing, 1301 North Third Street. Of those, Twin Ports Testing has announced plans to move to Duluth, probably to the Atlas Industrial Park where the new Amazon distribution warehouse is going up between Morgan Park and Gary-New Duluth.
“I think everyone is nervous, and that’s valid. I think that’s an absolutely normal reaction,” said Superior City Councilor Lindsey Graskey, whose 10th District encompasses the Wisconsin side of the Blatnik Bridge. “I think the community will rally year one, year two, but what about that year three, year four and that year five? Where does that sit?”
Linda Jurek’s presentation on how Grand Marais, with its tourism-based economy, survived a major downtown road construction focused on how the business community came together in a positive and united manner to keep people coming to their businesses.
That’s the tack Graskey thinks Superior should take.
“I think there’s no perfect answer. We’re not going to be able to create something that that will relieve all the stress,” she said. “How can we make the best as a community together to be able to get through this huge change? And yeah, change is uncomfortable, but I think if we all can kind of help each other out.
“The idea of we’re all in this together. It’s corny, but it’s true,” Graskey continued. “I’ve had some discussions with the mayor, and trying to be as optimistic as possible that this could actually create opportunity, could add things to our community that we’ve been wanting. Or it could inspire room for opening a new business, or for trying a different route, or just maybe spending more time in Superior because if you’re used to going over the bridge, this might just be an opportunity to rediscover your city.”
“I like some of the things that came out of that meeting, just with the idea of we have to think of the opportunities, not the negatives,” said Russ Salgy, president of the West Duluth Business Club. “And how do you get that out? Is that billboards? Is that flyers? Is it a mailing campaign? Do you do a hard hat special? Construction workers come in with their gear, they get 10% off.”
Salgy attended the Nov. 6 meeting to learn of the traffic changes that will happen on the Duluth side of the Bong Bridge when it is the main conduit, but he also had thoughts on how both sides could take advantage of the routing.
“Hey, this is 33,000 more vehicles that will be coming through our neighborhoods,” he said. “So if you’re specifically in that Denfeld business district, perhaps some of the business club and entrepreneurs out a little further west, what are some of the strategies that we could come up with to get some of that traffic to move and fill our restaurants and such?”
Salgy also wonders what role the Oliver Bridge will play during the closure.
“Maybe if you’re from the far West or South Superior, you’re already using that bridge,” he said. “But certainly any commuters, if you live anywhere north of West Duluth, whether that’s Proctor, the Heights, Hermantown, you’re all coming this way anyway, but it’s going to be that extra traffic that Woodland, UMD, Lakeside, if they all were taking the High Bridge over.”
With Duluth being a city full of biking/hiking trails, Salgy floated the idea of a “commerce trail.”
“Come here for an hour and have a Sammy’s pizza or something like that,” he said. “But we do have two, two and a half years before anything happens, so we do have a long, long way to gestate a marketing plan.” P.S.