May 16, 2024
By Lane Kimble
SUPERIOR, Wis. — Construction work to replace the Blatnik Bridge will likely begin in 2026, require closing the existing bridge for four years, and will produce a structure that runs along the same alignment with some new safety features.
MnDOT provided those updates on the estimated $1.8 billion project Wednesday night during a public meeting in Superior.
A federal Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) document issued this March allowed MnDOT to select its preferred alternative: building along the existing alignment while adding multi-use pedestrian lanes along the bridge and a new interchange system on the Wisconsin side.
Minnesota and Wisconsin are working jointly on the project, but MnDOT is the lead agency.
“I think that was really encouraging to see the two states working together and the amount of involvement the public still has. It’s a necessary plan, and I think it’s a good plan. There’s not an easy way to build that big of a bridge,” Douglas County Board member Dennis Cummings told WDIO-TV.
Preliminary design work on the bridge will run into 2026, final designs will go into 2027, and the current Blatnik bridge will then likely close from 2027-2031, MnDOT announced Wednesday. Closing the bridge during the entirety of construction is safer for traffic and workers alike, and allows crews to work on any part of the project at any time, MnDOT District Engineer Duane Hill said.
MnDOT also intends to use a Design-Build model to complete the project. The agency expects to do about 30% of the design, then select a contractor/engineer pairing to take it the rest of the way.
“It actually will have the shortest construction duration and the lowest overall cost. So those were kind of the main factors on why we chose that alignment,” Hill said.
