$500M Project Transforms Duluth, Minn.’s ‘Can of Worms’ Interchange | Columbus Ohio Dump Trucks

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.—commonly 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 columbus oh dump truck 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. “It reduced the number of load-restricted bridges while using ground improvement techniques to build the interstate on an elevated fill section. The project featured constrained right-of-way corridors, 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 Charlotte NC dump trucks 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.

Reinert said 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.

"These multi-modal transportation connections matter not just for our convenience but for our economy," he said. 

“For the last seven years we’ve been part of this project and for a year before that,” said Ben Levin of Ames Construction. “Before that we were working on getting our team pulled together and deciding how to approach the project and win it. 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 MnDOT [Minnesota Dept. of Transportation] folks—it is something truly unique.”

MnDOT will now turn its attention to replacing the existing Blatnik Bridge, which opened in1961 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.

Annemarie Mannion is editor of ENR Midwest, which covers 11 states. She joined ENR in 2022 and reports from Chicago.