Duffy reaches fork in the road at Superior’s Blatnik Bridge

Will the US Transportation Secretary release a $1 billion bridge replacement grant in his former congressional district or go along with President Donald Trump’s arbitrary cuts to infrastructure projects?

US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is about to put a billion-dollar price tag on his loyalty to President Donald Trump or to his home state and a major transportation project in the congressional district he used to represent.

Sen. Tammy Baldwin along with Minnesota Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, all Democrats, released a letter sent to Duffy on Monday that asks him to release a planned $1.05 billion grant that would allow construction to begin replacing the Blatnik Bridge, a major span connecting the Twin Ports of Superior, Wisconsin, and Duluth, Minnesota. 

The bridge is more than 60 years old and carries a daily average of 33,000 vehicles. The senators say the bridge also sees an annual load of 265,000 trucks transporting nearly $4 billion in goods, but its replacement might be held up by Trump amid a pattern of federal clawbacks to programs in order to pay for tax cuts geared toward corporations and the very wealthy.

Baldwin, Klobuchar, and Smith point to Trump’s recent threat to close a new bridge between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, Canada.  

“The folks in Minnesota and Wisconsin who are planning the reconstruction of the Blatnik Bridge have dotted their I’s and crossed their T’s,” Baldwin said. “Now, it’s time the President and Secretary Duffy give the final greenlight for this project to move forward so we can keep Wisconsinites safe and support the local economy.” 

“Delays in replacing the Blatnik Bridge would be incredibly costly to Minnesota and Wisconsin,” said Smith. “The administration should act swiftly to make sure this project moves forward on schedule and doesn’t cost Northland taxpayers more. Let’s get this done on time and within budget.”

Former President Joe Biden made the Blatnik Bridge replacement a national backdrop as he toured the country four years ago this week to promote the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. But shortly after Trump took office for a second time, he froze hundreds of billions of dollars in funding for projects nationwide that would have created jobs and improved roads, bridges, ports, airports, internet connections, and more. A flurry of lawsuits followed, with Duffy speaking in support of Trump’s effort to “pause” funding for electric vehicle infrastructure. Even where courts told Trump he could not halt funding, project sponsors have found the process to have become mired in delays.