The state has figured out a way to reconstruct the bridge between downtown Shakopee and Chanhassen without closing it down.

The prospect of any closure of the Hwy. 101 bridge over the Minnesota River, in a project aimed at both widening it and lifting it above all but the most calamitous floods, was alarming to city officials in Shakopee.

The design for the new bridge will be complete this fall, said Lezlie Vermillion, deputy administrator for Scott County, with bids on the $34 million project to be taken next year.

"Some innovative work by consultants will keep the old bridge up while they do the new one," she said.

County engineer Mitch Rasmussen said the basic timeline calls for road reinforcing in June 2014, work on pilings and piers from August to November, work on the superstructure -- the deck included -- from late 2014 through most of 2015, and traffic switched to the new bridge around October of that year.