MnDOT, Duluth Chamber Applaud Reopening Of Blatnik Bridge, I-35 Connection

It was a day in history Tuesday for MnDOT’s Twin Ports Interchange project, as I-35 ramps to and from the Blatnik Bridge officially re-opened for business.

“We know there’s still construction. There’s going to be for months to come, but anytime there’s an opportunity to celebrate some new accessibility for our businesses, both in Duluth and Superior, that’s great,” said Daniel Fanning, with the Duluth Area Chamber of Commerce.

(Watch: Blatnik Bridge’s History and Future)

From driving to work or heading to local businesses, it’s been a tough few years for so many drivers heading between Duluth and Superior via the Blatnik Bridge.  But not on Tuesday.

Vehicles and semis are no longer forced to take the single-lane Garfield Avenue or single-lane Railroad Street.

More than 30,000 vehicles travel over the Blatnik Bridge on any given day. It’s a crucial freight and commercial connection between Duluth and Superior.

“I remember we were helping advocate for funding, for federal funding for the Blatnik Bridge reconstruction project, and just putting together some of those numbers for letters of support, advocating our federal officials to see the numbers of traffic and that the commerce that happens between those bridges is astronomically huge, and it’s good for both sides of the bridge — Wisconsin and Minnesota. So to have even some of those parts open again, only encourages that more commerce,” Fanning said.

For MnDOT, they’ve always seen progress on the project, but to have drivers actually see the improvements is even more rewarding for construction crews.

 “A year or two ago when we opened up the I-35 portion, everybody was so excited to have four lanes going through there. So now, with these connections open, I think just the general public will be so happy to have all those movements open again,” said Pippi Mayfield, communications director at MnDOT in the Duluth area.

There’s plenty of more work ahead. Coming up this fall, MnDOT will complete the Highway 53/Piedmont Avenue stretch down to 21st Avenue West into the Lincoln Park neighborhood.

In the fall of 2025, Highway 53/Piedmont will connect to I-535 and the Blatnik Bridge.

And then in the spring of 2026, major construction will begin for a new $1.8 billion replacement of the Blatnik Bridge.