>> Reporting from Milwaukee. I'm Steven Potter for "Here&
Now". >> An iconic connector
between superior, Wisconsin and Duluth, Minnesota is
set to close early next year. The Blatnik 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 $1 billion for the project. As
part of the bipartisan infrastructure law. But now,
U.S. senators in 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 Merrick Jim Paine is part
of the chorus calling for the grant money to be
released, and is heading to Washington to personally
appeal to D.O.T. and Secretary Sean Duffy. 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
okay because the there are some delays built into the
project. The problem is this the later we start,
the later we finish and the. 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 U.S. Dot told you about when that
might happen? >> Nothing. 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 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 Bong 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, 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 the
greater the impacts 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 were 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 to live up to its end of the
deal. >> And so the new bridge is
supposed to be up and operating by, what, 2031?
>> Hope so this is a transportation project, and
any transportation project involves delays. So an
unforeseen 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 used the word political. What do you
what do you think the holdup is?
>> I honestly don't know. I've worked with many
different state and federal administrations at this
administration. And while there have been there's
been plenty of disagreement on priorities. I've never
dealt with this level of chaos. I don't know what
the holdup 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. Actions do.