The John A. Blatnik Bridge, one of two bridges that connects Duluth, Minn., to Superior, Wis., opened to traffic in 1961 and carries I-535 over the St. Louis Bay. The Blatnik Bridge is an important freight and commercial connection between the Twin Ports.
Jointly owned and managed by MnDOT and WisDOT, it is Minnesota's second longest bridge and serves an average of 33,000 cars traveling between the two cities each day. In early 2024, the two agencies received more than $1 billion in federal funding to replace the aging bridge. Both states are also contributing funding for the project. MnDOT will lead the bridge replacement project, which will address aging infrastructure, improve safety and better accommodate oversize/overweight loads.
Blatnik Bridge milestone: MnDOT and WisDOT announce apparent best value contractor
The Minnesota and Wisconsin Departments of Transportation opened bids for the Blatnik Bridge replacement project Tuesday, June 23, and Ames-Kraemer Joint Venture II was the apparent best value proposer.
MnDOT, lead agency on the project, chose the design-build process for the Blatnik Bridge project. This means MnDOT and WisDOT define the standards and general specifications expected for the bridge project and then hire a contractor to design and construct the bridge to satisfy those requirements. This process was chosen for efficient coordination between the design team and the construction team, a lower cost and more innovative design and construction.
MnDOT often uses a best-value system for design-build projects, which combines a bidder’s technical score and price into a single adjusted score. The lowest adjusted score at project letting determines who will be awarded the contract for the project. Two contractors bid on the Blatnik project. Ames-Kraemer Joint Venture II’s bid was $930 million.
The states and Ames-Kraemer Joint Venture II now have up to 60 days before the contract is awarded. Until then, the states cannot discuss confidential details of Ames-Kraemer Joint Venture II’s technical proposal. A public meeting will be held in early September to give an update on the project including details on the design of the new bridge.
The Connector newsletter
MnDOT and WisDOT started The Connector newsletter to help you stay informed about the replacement of the Blatnik Bridge. This newsletter is intended to share more about the historic structure, the ins and outs of a construction project of this magnitude, public events and much more.
Check out the June issue, and find links to previous months under The Connector newsletter section.
Fall 2025 project update video
New bridge alignment
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After more than three years of studying multiple alternatives and engaging the public for feedback, the states will construct the new bridge on the same alignment as it exists today. It will also include a shared-use path, and a new interchange into Superior will be constructed.
Since project development began in 2020, many alternatives were considered against the project purpose and need and evaluation criteria. The process was broken into several steps and documented in technical reports available in Appendix F of the Environment Assessment document on the project website to allow for public and agency input at key decision points.
Reasons for keeping the bridge on the current alignment include
