Sen. Klobuchar Looks to Bridge Federal Funding for Blatnik Bridge

DULUTH, Minn. — For the last 62 years now, the Blatnik Bridge helped the Twin Ports to stay connected. Most recently, both Minnesota and Wisconsin submitted their second application for federal funding to replace the bridge. Their first, being back in August. Sunday, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar spoke alongside the Duluth Area Chamber of Commerce and the Duluth Building and Construction Trades Council to highlight the need of securing federal funding for a new bridge.

“The Duluth Chamber’s three strategic pillars are improvement of business conditions, economic development, and community progress,” said President of Duluth Area Chamber of Commerce, Matt Baumgartner. “For over six decades, this bridge, as we heard, has not just served as a connecting point, but it also has been a connection of business, economic development, and community progress.”

Averaging 33,000 vehicles each day and bringing in an estimated $4 billion dollars in goods each year, the Blatnik Bridge is over 60 years old. For the last two years, Sen. Klobuchar has stressed the importance of securing federal funding for the bridge’s infrastructure.

“To make all of this work we need the infrastructure,” said U.S. Senator (D-MN) Amy Klobuchar. “But we know that we have got significant funding from both states, Wisconsin and Minnesota. Duluth has applied for three different kinds of grants from the department of transportation.”

The project costs an estimated $1.8 billion dollars, half of which will be paid by both states of Wisconsin and Minnesota. Once funding is secured, the project would be designed to best suit the Twin Ports.

“The proposed reconstruction is not just a structural overhaul,” said Baumgartner. “It’s an investment in our economic future, promise to enhance efficiency, safety, and reliability for our businesses.”

Even though the funding process for the bridge started under Larson’s administration, Mayoral Elect Roger Reinert is looking forward seeing the project out through his time in office.

“In Duluth, we pride ourselves as being a transportation hub. We have the airport, we have the port, we have rail, and of course we have a freeway system and we thrive because of that,” said Reinert. “I do also want to thank Mayor Larson and her staff who put so much work into this, we’ll pick that ball up and we will continue to move it forward.”

“We also know that it’s been incredibly inconvenient for people who live here to have the constant maintenance of the bridge and projects that keep having to be done. So it’s ready to make a major change and get this done,” said Klobuchar. “It’s a major, major priority and I think the sooner the better.”