Here & Now

Mayor Jim Paine on Funds for the Blatnik Bridge in Superior

Frederica Freyberg:
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 Mayor Jim Paine is part of the chorus calling for the grant money to be released and is heading to Washington to personally appeal to DOT and Secretary Sean Duffy so the project can get going. He joins us from Superior and mayor, thanks for being here.

Jim Paine:
Yeah. Of course. Thanks for having me.

Frederica Freyberg:
So how critical is it to get this funding released sooner rather than later?

Jim Paine:
Well, at first we’ll be okay because the — there are some delays built into the project. The problem is 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.

Frederica Freyberg:
What has the U.S. DOT told you about when that might happen?

Jim Paine:
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 this project was going forward. So this is a very frustrating delay.

Frederica Freyberg:
And Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, of course, knows the region, having represented it and knows the importance of this bridge.

Jim Paine:
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.

Frederica Freyberg:
So when the bridge closes, how will people get across?

Jim Paine:
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 greater the impacts on quality of life and commerce.

Frederica Freyberg:
Meanwhile, your city has already expended money toward the eventual replacement of the bridge. What is the preparation and that expenditure?

Jim Paine:
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 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.

Frederica Freyberg:
And so the new bridge is supposed to be up and operating by, what, 2031?

Jim Paine:
Hope so. This is a transportation project, and any transportation project involves delays. 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.

Frederica Freyberg:
So Republican lawmakers say the funding will be released and it’s not in jeopardy. You just used the word political. What do you think the holdup is?

Jim Paine:
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 — 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 it’s so guaranteed, let’s hear that from the Secretary of Administration. Words do not build bridges. Actions do.

Frederica Freyberg:
Mayor Jim Paine, thanks very much.

Jim Paine:
Thank you.