Trucks and trailer combinations over 35 feet long won't be allowed on the Lafayette Bridge in St. Paul for 10 months next year while construction continues on a new northbound span, the Minnesota Department of Transportation said Friday.

The ban on truck traffic will begin in late January or early February, after a crossover is built from the existing span to the northbound bridge. It will end when the crossover is removed in late November.

MnDOT will hold an open house from 3 to 6 p.m. Tuesday to discuss the crossover and traffic effects. It will be at the Neighborhood House/Wellstone Center, 179 E. Robie St., St. Paul.

The existing bridge will be demolished in 2014, when work will begin on the southbound span. The $130 million project is expected to be finished in 2015.

KEVIN DUCHSCHERE