Blatnik Bridge Shutdown Is Coming. Wednesday Offered A Preview
The Blatnik Bridge Replacement project is coming up in just a few months, and the bridge will be shut down for about 4 and a half years. That's if it goes smoothly. One thing is for certain: traffic impacts are going to happen, and it's going to be a pain. How bad will it be? Wednesday gave us a sneak peek at what the situation will look like.
Tanker Truck Flips Over On Blatnik Bridge
A tanker truck toppled over on the northbound I-535 Blatnik Bridge on Wednesday morning. It closed down both lanes of traffic Duluth-bound for half the day, as they worked to pump out the contents of the tank and get the semi upright. This routed people over the Bong Bridge.
Vehicle Backups Throughout The Day
Around 12:45 PM, I was driving over to the Bong Bridge to get back to Superior when I saw the cars backed up on I-35 Northbound. The steady stream of cars trying to get around the Mesaba Avenue construction project caused a backup almost all the way to 27th Avenue West.
Around 2 PM, I needed to travel back to Duluth, so I took the Bong Bridge. It was bumper-to-bumper, stop-and-go traffic all the way from 27th Avenue West to the 5th Avenue West exit.
Mesaba Avenue Bridge Project Repair A Factor
The Mesaba Avenue Bridge Repair project will end this fall, so it won't be a factor when the Blatnik Bridge shutdown happens. But that doesn't mean other things won't pop up. Vehicle breakdowns, lane closures, and yearly construction projects are all going to cause more backups. And we need to remember that yesterday, the southbound lanes of the Blatnik Bridge never closed.