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>> Reporting from Milwaukee.
I'm Steven Potter for "Here&

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Now".
>> An iconic connector

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between superior, Wisconsin
and Duluth, Minnesota is

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set to close early next
year. The Blatnik Bridge

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opened in 1961, and now
more than 65 years later,

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is scheduled for
reconstruction. According

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to the governor's office,
more than 33,000 vehicles

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cross every day and more
than 265,000 transport

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trucks traverse the bridge
each year. In 2024, former

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President Joe Biden visited
superior to draw attention

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to funding just over $1
billion for the project. As

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part of the bipartisan
infrastructure law. But now,

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U.S. senators in two states
and Wisconsin Governor Tony

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Evers, have written letters
to the U.S. Department of

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Transportation to release
that funding so the project

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can proceed. Superior
Merrick Jim Paine is part

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of the chorus calling for
the grant money to be

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released, and is heading to
Washington to personally

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appeal to D.O.T. and
Secretary Sean Duffy. So

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the project can get going.
He joins us from Superior

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and Mayor. Thanks for being
here.

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>> Yeah. Of course. Thanks
for having me.

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>> So how critical is it to
get this funding released

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sooner rather than later?
>> Well, at first will be

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okay because the there are
some delays built into the

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project. The problem is
this the later we start,

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the later we finish and the.
The effect of the closure

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of the bridge is
significant. And that's

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what we're preparing for.
And any extension of that

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closure is problematic for
the economy and quality of

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life of both superior and
neighboring Duluth. So the

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later it starts, the later
it finishes.

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>> What has the U.S. Dot
told you about when that

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might happen?
>> Nothing. And until now,

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we had reasonable
assurances that this was

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going to happen. There was
a lot of uncertainty at the

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start of this presidential
administration, but that

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was supposed to have been
resolved that that this

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project was going forward.
So this is a very

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frustrating delay.
>> And Transportation

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Secretary Sean Duffy, of
course, knows the region,

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having represented it and
and knows the importance of

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this bridge.
>> I would hope so. I would

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think so. This is a vital
connector, not just for the

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cities of Superior and
Duluth or the states of

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Wisconsin and Minnesota.
This is an international

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connector. The age of the
bridge already limits the

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freight loads. There's
almost no freight that

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moves over it, but it's
going to be a vital

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connector for international
shipping between Michigan,

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Canada, northern Minnesota,
really the entire continent.

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It's a very vital
connection. The Secretary

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of Transportation should
understand that and

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recognize this. Look, one
of the most important

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things to note here, there
is no question about the

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fact that this bridge is
closing. It is at the end

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of its life. It is going to
close. The only question in

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front of us is whether it's
going to reopen with a new

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bridge and when.
>> So when the bridge

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closes, how will people get
across?

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>> There's another bridge.
The Bong Bridge is another

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major connector which can
handle the load, but it's

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going to create significant
bottlenecks. If you look at

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even a map of Wisconsin,
you can see superior is

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sitting as a nice little
hat there at the very

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northwest corner, and it
already creates some

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backlogs. When enough
freight is moving through

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the city, that will become
demonstrably worse during

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bridge closure. So the
longer that lasts, the the

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greater the impacts on
quality of life and

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commerce.
>> Meanwhile, your city has

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already expended money
toward the eventual

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replacement of the bridge.
What is the preparation and

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that expenditure?
>> There's been millions

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and millions of dollars in
prep. A lot of it has been

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relocation of whole
businesses, some of them as

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much as 100 years old that
were operating at the foot

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of that bridge. We cleared
it all out and look, we did

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our part. We spent a
significant amount of

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public, local money, city
of superior money to help

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relocate businesses, to
improve transportation

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networks, to actually
rebuild streets, improve

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them, to mitigate traffic,
to to prepare for faster

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and more efficient
emergency response during

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bridge closure. We have
done our part. The state of

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Wisconsin, the state of
Minnesota have done their

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part. Everything is ready.
We're waiting for the

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federal government to to
live up to its end of the

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deal.
>> And so the new bridge is

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supposed to be up and
operating by, what, 2031?

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>> Hope so this is a
transportation project, and

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any transportation project
involves delays. So an

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unforeseen delay like this,
a what seems to be a

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political delay only adds
to the uncertainty and

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complexity of an already
uncertain and complex

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project.
>> So Republican lawmakers

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say the funding will be
released and it's not in

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jeopardy. You just used the
word political. What do you

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what do you think the
holdup is?

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>> I honestly don't know.
I've worked with many

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different state and federal
administrations at this

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administration. And while
there have been there's

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been plenty of disagreement
on priorities. I've never

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dealt with this level of
chaos. I don't know what

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the holdup is. I appreciate
that lawmakers are saying

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that it will be released.
Well, then release it, sign

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the document, show us that
we have the money so

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planning and preparation
can resume. I don't know if

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if it's so guaranteed.
Let's hear that from the

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Secretary of Administration.
Words do not build bridges.

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Actions do.
Actions do.