Wisconsin hopeful for federal bridge money as 2023 funds roll out

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The federal government has rolled out its first bridge program money of the year to several Midwestern states. In Wisconsin, transportation officials are hopeful the state’s own large-scale and integral connectors will get future funding as well.

The Federal Highway Administration disbursed more than $2 billion on Jan. 4 for bridge rehabilitation projects in five U.S. states, including the Calumet River Bridge in Illinois and the Brent Spence Bridge Corridor Project between Ohio and Kentucky. The money comes through the Bridge Investment Program, which has $2.44 billion through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed in November of 2021.

In August, Gov. Tony Evers and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz asked for over $800 million in BIL money to repair the John A. Blatnik Bridge between Superior and Duluth. The federal government also awarded $80 million in September to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation to replace bridge spans for the I-39/90/94 Wisconsin River Bridge.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation and WisDOT are looking to finance a project to replace the Blatnik bridge and construction could start as early as 2026, a report from the agency’s Transportation Projects Commission showed. MNDOT is the lead agency for the project and the state shares half of the project cost.

Commissioners estimated the cost of replacing the bridge around $1.8 billion in 2022 dollars and have submitted a competitive grant application asking for $833 million, the report said. Wisconsin would receive half the grant available as $2.34 billion in BIP funds were available last year.

Surveyors for MNDOT found rotting trusses and the need for significant steel and cable repairs in 2016, the Minnesota transportation agency said. Crews inspect the bridge every year which shuts down lanes from one to three weeks, and an average of 33,021 cars travel between Superior and Duluth each day. Transport officials said the Blatnik is also an important freight and commercial connection between the Twin Ports.

WisDOT will replace crumbling river bridges in Columbia County, and officials said if the declining state of bridges aren’t addressed soon, they could have frequent and lengthy closures in the future, a report from Infrastructure for Rebuilding America showed. Truck traffic makes up 23% of total bridge traffic and links to Madison, Milwaukee and Chicago.

Other structures that appeared on TPC’s December report were the Lansing Bridge, the Interstate 94 East-West project and the North Leg of the Zoo Interchange Project. The Iowa Department of Transportation, which leads the Lansing Bridge project, asked for a $100 million grant to cover costs around $137.5 million.