Highways
$500M Project Transforms Duluth, Minn.’s ‘Can of Worms’ Interchange
MnDOT now turns its attention to $1.8-billion Blatnik Bridge project
A $500-million, five-year project to reconstruct the Interstate 35 and Interstate 535/U.S. Highway 53 interchange in Duluth, Minn. is complete.
A half-billion-dollar, five-year project to reconstruct the Interstate 35 and the Interstate 535-U.S. Highway 53 interchange in the heart of Duluth, Minn.—known as the “Can of Worms” because of its complexity—is now substantially complete and officially open to traffic; the interchange is part of a major shipping and industrial hub that includes Superior, Wis.
Project construction manager/general contractor Kraemer North America—who worked in partnership with Ames Construction—cited the project as “Minnesota’s largest progressively developed CM/GC project.”
The work included a new design, relocation of all exits and entrances along one side of the roadway, elimination of merge conflicts and weaving problems near the interchange, and lane continuity for I‑35 traffic.
“It required complex traffic management and innovative phasing to eliminate blind merges and left exits and improve freight movement on the aging interchange known as the Can of Worms,” Kraemer North America says on its website.
The project lessened the number of load-restricted bridges by using ground improvement methods to elevate the interstate on a fill section that navigated tight rights-of-way, multiple rail crossings and 18 bridges.
“The Kraemer team maximized winter work, such as bridge removal, pile driving and construction of the substructure and Miller Creek box culvert, so earthwork, concrete pours and paving could start in the summer months,” the company added.
The interchange carries about 80,000 vehicles daily, including an average of 5,320 heavy commercial vehicles. It provides a first- and last-mile connection to the Clure Public Terminal, an intermodal facility with highway, rail and waterway freight connections.
“The Can of Worms is officially no longer a thing, which is something to celebrate,” Duluth Mayor Roger J. Reinert said at an October ribbon-cutting, noting that the Duluth area is experiencing a manufacturing surge and infrastructure is needed to support that growth.
“Manufacturing is largely built on the connection of rail, roads and airports, and the Twin Ports is the only true port in the state of Minnesota," Reinert added, calling it the "largest port by tonnage on the Great Lakes," and emphasizing how multi-modal transportation connections matter for convenience and the economy.
“For the last seven years we’ve been part of this project and for a year before that,” said Ben Lovin of Ames Construction.
“Before that, we were working on getting our team pulled together and deciding how to approach the project and win it," he added. "That eight years of investment has turned into a project that is not like most other projects—the way the team has come together, the contracting team, our subcontractors and [Minnesota Dept. of Transportation] folks—it is something truly unique.”
MnDOT will now turn its attention to replacing the existing Blatnik Bridge, which opened in 1961 and carries I‑535/U.S. 53 over the St. Louis Bay between Duluth and Superior, Wis. The bridge is nearing the end of its useful life, and without replacement, is predicted to close by 2030, according to the Wisconsin Dept. of Transportation.
A contractor has not yet been selected for the $1.8-billion bridge replacement, which will be built on the existing alignment and include a pedestrian/bicycle path. Construction is expected to begin in late 2026.
