Hold On: Bong Bridge To Be Re-Decked, Not Replaced

A story from a local news source started major chatter, when they reported in a story on September 25 that officials with the Minnesota Department of Transportation and the Wisconsin Department of Transportation had the Bong Bridge in their sites for replacement.  Clarification came the next day on September 26 when they updated the story to relate that a re-decking was on the table - instead of a complete replacement.

The initial story suggested that after the Twin Ports Interchange Project (Can-of-Worms rebuild) was finished and following a proposed Blatnik Bridge complete replacement, "repair or replacement of the Bong Bridge....[would] follow....in 2028".  Many focused on the word "replacement", as that was the first time that the term had ever been connected to the 35 year-old span.

An update corrected the misinterpretation. A story in the Superior Telegram continued that "[t]he major project to address the Bong Bridge is a re-decking scheduled to come between 2031-35".

The Bong Bridge first opened to traffic in 1984, and represents one of three routes over the St. Louis River - partnering with the Blatnik Bridge as major arterial routes in the heart of the Twin Ports, with the smaller Oliver Bridge carrying Highway 39/105 over the southern end.