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(CN) — The Biden administration on Thursday rolled out nearly $5 billion in infrastructure funding, including more than $1 billion to replace a key bridge connecting Wisconsin and Minnesota.
President Joe Biden made the announcement from Superior, Wisconsin, where the biggest award will help replace the Blatnik Bridge.
“Our infrastructure used to be the best in the world,” he said. “But over a period of time we stopped investing in America.”
The bridge, which opened in 1961, crosses the bay at the mouth of the St. Louis River, connecting Superior and Duluth, Minnesota. Every year, 265,000 trucks carrying more than $4 billion of goods cross the bridge.
The bridge is a key transportation hub for the region’s forestry, agriculture and clean energy sectors. “It’s a vital link of our nation’s economy,” Biden said.
Biden said the bridge is in a “badly corroded condition” and “unsafe” for oversized and overweight loads. It’s also outdated with tight curves that cause wrecks and lead to congestion.
Rebuilding the bridge is expected to cost $1.8 billion. Minnesota and Wisconsin committed $400 million toward the project last year. Design work is expected to start this year and construction could start in 2025.
“We knew this bridge needed a lot of work,” Biden said. “This investment is going to make a huge difference.”
The money, which comes from funding previously earmarked through the bipartisan infrastructure law, will support 10,000 construction jobs.
“For years we’ve been asking the federal government to maintain this vital link and the Biden Administration got it done,” Superior Mayor Jim Paine said in a press release. “Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act, we can not only keep the Twin Ports connected, we can actually improve access for hundreds of people in both cities.”
Other grants announced Thursday include $600 million to replace the 100-year-old Interstate 5 bridge connecting Oregon and Washington across the Columbia River; $427 million for an offshore wind terminal in California; and $327 million to replace the Sagamore Bridge, which provides the only access to the Massachusetts mainland from Cape Cod.
Other projects are in Louisiana, New York, Arizona, Montana, Nevada and Georgia.
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