Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin, addressed the $1,058,398,200 grant awarded for the Blatnik Bridge replacement project during an interview Tuesday.

Baldwin said this the project took a huge step forward thanks in part to Bipartisan legislative efforts.

“It started with passing the bipartisan infrastructure law–then really persisting every day after that to try to make sure that this bridge was on the radar screen of the Department of Transportation and the President,” explained Baldwin.

Sen. Baldwin said there will be new changes to Blatnik Bridge with an emphasis on making travel safer for pedestrians and bikers.

“There’s also an issue of safety when you get off the bridge in Superior, there’s a kind of dangerous curve and it lands you right in a residential neighborhood. There’s going to be some design improvements there that will make it safer for the community.”

The Blatnik Bridge Reconstruction Project costs an estimated $1.8 billion.

“Both the states of Minnesota and Wisconsin are putting in their share to replace the Blatnik Bridge. This is a 1960’s era bridge and there are now strong safety concerns,” Baldwin said. “It’s about safety, but it’s also about our economy and people needing to get back and forth between Duluth and Superior.”