The southbound direction of the 40th Avenue West bridge over I-35 in Duluth has reopened.
One 11’ lane is accessible across the bridge for traffic heading from the hillside towards the lake. Traffic will be able to access the ramp northbound to I-35 and Oneota St. Motorists exiting from northbound I-35 will continue to be detoured on Oneota St. to 37 ½ Ave. W. and then follow W. Michigan St. and W. Superior St. back to 40th Ave W.
What was intended as connection begins to blur into something else — something that, in its saturation, can feel closer to a pitch than a public service. An overextended one. Almost like a showroom floor that never quite closes.
The question is no longer simply whether Roger Reinert deserves another term. The question is whether Duluth believes it is on the path it wants — and if not, who has the discipline, clarity and courage to alter it. November 2027 will deliver the verdict. The work of deciding it begins now.
This time, the leverage isn’t casino revenue. It’s downtown frustration — visible poverty, safety complaints, business dissatisfaction and the persistent sense that downtown Duluth has not lived up to decades of promises.
How do you replace lost industrial base? How do you stabilize tax revenue? How do you bring consistent, year-round activity back into a hollowing downtown? Rochester, Cleveland and Pittsburgh leaned into medicine and were successful.
The lesson is not that every project will succeed. It is that progress requires participation — from developers, from institutions and from city leadership willing to remove obstacles rather than manage decline.
Howie is editor & publisher of 50-Yard Football The Indoor Football League, founded in 2009, enters its 18th consecutive season in 2026 as the longest continuously operating indoor football league in the United States and the sport’s de facto major league. With 14 teams across eight top-50 media markets,