Govs. Tony Evers and Tim Walz, and U.S. Sens. Tammy Baldwin and Amy Klobuchar were among the state and federal officials who gathered earlier this week to mark the groundbreaking of the Blatnik Bridge replacement, which will reconnect Superior, Wisconsin, and Duluth, Minnesota.
About $1 billion in federal funding for the replacement project, which will begin in earnest in March 2027, was allocated during the Biden administration and secured earlier this year.
While there will be rerouting of local roads, a series of events and public notices, including marketing fairs, weekly construction updates and customer-tracking data, will help affected businesses during the 5-year rebuilding schedule, according to a report by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Kelly Peterson, executive director of the Superior Business Improvement District, said opportunities will be available for businesses “to learn about what they need to do to market themselves better, to really get the word out that their business is a destination and people should want to continue to support their business,” during the construction period.
