Decorative lights on Blatnik Bridge in Duluth out during construction

May 16, 2012

Duluth, Minnesota — The decorative lights on the Blatnik Bridge have been turned off as work continues on a bridge rehabilitation project that began May 14.

All of the decorative lighting fixtures on the Blatnik Bridge are attached to the outside faces of structural steel and need to be removed to access the areas behind them during the rehabilitation project. The bridge will not have any decorative lighting during the two-year construction project.

All roadway and navigational lighting on the bridge will remain operational during the two-year project and after it is finished. Roadway and navigational lighting systems are essential for the safe operation of traffic on the bridge and ships using the channel below the bridge.

The Minnesota and Wisconsin departments of transportation have formed a team of local and state officials interested in installing a new, energy-efficient decorative lighting system on the bridge. The team is optimistic that a new lighting system will be installed and operational by fall 2013.

For more information on the project, visit the project website.

For updated travel information on all Minnesota roads, call 511 or click on www.511mn.org.

For more information, contact:
Beth Petrowske, Minnesota DOT
(218) 725-2708