And
iconic connector between
superior Wisconsin and
Duluth, Minnesota is set to
close early next year. The
Blotnik Bridge opened in
1961 and now more than 65
years later is scheduled for
reconstruction. According to
the governor's office, more
than 33,000 vehicles cross
every day and more than 265,000
transport trucks traverse the
bridge each year. In 2024,
former President Joe Biden
visited Superior to draw
attention to funding just over
a billion dollars for the
project as part of the bipartisan
infrastructure law. But now
U.S. senators and two states
and Wisconsin Governor Tony
Evers have written letters to
the U.S. Department of
Transportation to release that
funding so the project can
proceed. Superior Mayor Jim
Payne is part of the chorus
calling for the grant money to
be released so the project can
get going. He joins us from
Superior and Mayor, thanks for
being here. Yeah, of course.
Thanks for having me. So how
critical is it to get this
funding released sooner rather
than later? Well, at first
will be OK because the there
are some delays built into the
project. The problem is this
the later we start the later
we finish and the effect of
the closure of the bridge is
significant. And that's what
we're preparing for. And any
extension of that closure is
problematic for the economy and
quality of life of both
Superior and neighboring
Duluth. So the later it starts
the later it finishes. What
has the USDA told you about
when that might happen?
Nothing. We have had a lot of
coordination with Wisconsin
Department of Transportation
and of course, Minnesota
Department of Transportation.
And until now we had reasonable
assurances that this was going
to happen. There was a lot of
uncertainty at the start of
this presidential administration.
But that was supposed to have
been resolved that that this
project was going forward.
So this is a very frustrating
delay and Transportation
Secretary Sean Duffy, of
course, knows the region having
represented it and knows the
importance of this bridge.
I would hope so. I would think
so. This is a vital connector
not just for the cities of
Superior and Duluth or the
states of Wisconsin and
Minnesota. This is an
international connector. The
age of the bridge already
limits the freight loads. There's
almost no freight that moves
over it, but it's going to be a
vital connector for
international shipping between
Michigan, Canada, northern
Minnesota, really the entire
continent. It's a very vital
connection. The Secretary of
Transportation should
understand that and recognize
this. Look, one of the most
important things to note here.
There is no question about the
fact that this bridge is
closing. It is at the end of
its life. It is going to
close. The only question in
front of us is whether it's
going to reopen with a new
bridge and when. So when the
bridge closes, how will people
get across? There's another
bridge. The bond bridge is
another major connector, which
can handle the load, but it's
going to create significant
bottlenecks. If you look at
even a map of Wisconsin, you
can see Superior is sitting
as a nice little hat there at
the very northwest corner.
Superior is a triangular
peninsula into the the St.
Louis Harbor of Lake Superior.
That means traffic bottlenecks
as it comes from Duluth and it
already creates some backlogs
when enough freight is moving
through the city. That will
become demonstrably worse
during bridge closure. So the
longer that lasts, the greater
the impact on quality of life
and commerce. Meanwhile, your
city has already expended money
toward the eventual replacement
of the bridge. What is the
preparation and that
expenditure? There's been
millions and millions of
dollars in prep. A lot of it
has been relocation of whole
businesses. Some of them, as
much as 100 years old, that
we're operating at the foot of
that bridge. We cleared it all
out. And look, we did our part.
We spent a significant amount
of public local money, city of
Superior money, to help
relocate businesses, to
improve transportation
networks, to actually rebuild
streets, improve them, to
mitigate traffic, to to
prepare for faster and more
efficient emergency response
during bridge closure. We have
done our part, the state of
Wisconsin, the state of
Minnesota have done their part.
Everything is ready. We're
waiting for the federal
government to live up to its
end of the deal. And so the
new bridge is supposed to be
up and operating by what 20,
31? Hope so. This is a
transportation project and
any transportation project
involves delays. And so when
you're looking at the largest
transportation project that
anybody up here has worked on
from folks at the city of
Superior, all the way to staff
on both departments of
transportation, we would
expect some significant
delays along the way. That is
the nature of construction
projects. So an unforced
delay like this, a what seems
to be a political delay only
adds to the uncertainty and
complexity of an already
uncertain and complex project.
So Republican lawmakers say
the funding will be released
and it's not in jeopardy. You
just use the word political.
What do you think the hold up
is? I honestly don't know.
I've worked with many
different state and federal
administrations at this point,
including the Trump
administration. And while
there have been plenty of
disagreement on priorities, I
never dealt with this level of
chaos. I don't know what the
hold up is. I appreciate that
lawmakers are saying that it
will be released. Well, then
release it. Sign the document,
show us that we have the money
so planning and preparation
can resume. I don't know if if
it's so guaranteed. Let's hear
that from the secretary of
administration. Words do not
build bridges. Actions do.
Mayor Jim Payne. Thanks very
much. Thank you.
Marissa Marissa just said that
was a great last line.
I'd have talked all day. That's
great. Well, good luck with all
of that. And we'll we'll check
back. Of course. We have lots
of years to do. Yeah, I'm going
to Washington on Sunday. I'm
going to try and meet with you.
OK. Feel free to call and ask
how that went. OK. We will not
have to. All right. Well, we'll
see. We'll see. Thank you,
everybody. Thank you.