Mayor Paine voices support for infrastructure bill

Superior Mayor Jim Paine voiced his hopes for the national $1.1 trillion infrastructure bill during a press conference Tuesday morning.

"I absolutely support this bill, at least, how it’s published right now,” said Paine. “While there are ways it could be improved, there are certainly ways it could be made not as good as well. “

Paine cited work that could be done on ongoing Lake Superior projects as a major reason for his support.

“This is, I believe, the most significant investment in restoration and resiliency for the Great Lakes. Obviously, that is absolutely vital work to the city of Superior which doesn’t just live on, but, also largely in Lake Superior. We’ve been doing this work for years. St. Louis River estuary and the Lake Superior Shoreline have been an area of concern to clean up historic environmental damage for several years now. This bill puts the end in sight," Pain explained.

Paine also said that he hopes the bill is passed quickly as he believes it will be a great boon to the city.

"I feel confident that Superior is going to be a major beneficiary of this. We have been leading the way with all these initiatives. We’ve been building safer streets for years and investing our own money into it. We’ve been investing in climate resiliency, in Great Lakes restoration, in clean water for years with a lot of our own money,” Paine concluding that the federal will greatly help offset expenses.