The Minnesota Department of Transportation installed a temporary pedestrian bridge Thursday on Highway 14 in Winona at St. Mary’s University of Minnesota.

Traffic was expected to open on Highway 14 about 7 p.m. once all the work was completed to secure the bridge and open it to pedestrian traffic.

The 13.3-ton, 56-foot bridge will serve as the temporary pedestrian crossing for the next two to three years for students and others at St. Mary’s and the neighborhoods it serves in Winona.

MnDOT crews used a crane to re-install the stairs to access the bridge and then the crane guided the bridge back onto the piers that held the old bridge. MnDOT crews were expected to spend the rest of the afternoon and early evening.

“It’s gone according to plan and the team worked well get it back up there and secure it,” said Larry Waletzki, MnDOT bridge maintenance supervisor in Rochester.

Traffic was detoured while the work took place Thursday. The detour for eastbound Highway 14 traffic was Winona County Road 23 north at Stockton to Highway 61 south at Minnesota City. Westbound Highway 14 traffic followed the route in reverse.

The bridge will serve as a temporary replacement for the structure that was severely damaged by a semi-truck crash Sept. 8 and removed a day later. The bridge, which was built in 1963, was not scheduled for replacement within the next 10-year planning cycle.

MnDOT plans to construct a permanent pedestrian bridge that meets Americans with Disabilities Act requirements within the next two to three years, if funding can be obtained.