The Minnesota Department of Transportation has closed and detoured Highway 14 at Saint Mary’s University in Winona after inspectors deemed a pedestrian bridge over the highway unsafe because of damage caused by a semi-truck that hit the bridge on Monday afternoon.

MnDOT crews inspected the bridge late Monday afternoon and made their determination to close the highway and remove the bridge. The bridge will be removed as soon as crews can get the needed equipment to the site to begin the removal process. The highway will be re-opened when the structure is safely cleared and the area is cleaned up for traffic.

“Safety is a paramount to us,” said Steven Kirsch, MnDOT assistant district engineer for program support in Rochester. “We feel it is at risk of collapse and want to ensure that the public is kept safe until we can remove the bridge.”

The bridge serves a portion of the Saint Mary’s campus, so MnDOT will be working with the university to assist in ensuring safe highway crossing for the college students.

The detour for eastbound Highway 14 traffic is Winona County Road 23 north at Stockton to Highway 61 south at Minnesota City. Westbound Highway 14 traffic should follow the route in reverse.

The crash was reported to the Minnesota State Patrol at 2:08 p.m. The semi struck the bridge underneath and damaged beams. MnDOT immediately stopped pedestrian traffic on the bridge and then brought in inspectors to complete the evaluation later in the afternoon.