The 89-year-old St. Anthony Parkway bridge in northeast Minneapolis that was closed to vehicles and all other means of crossing late last month is slowly getting back to normal.

Bicyclists and pedestrians can now travel down the center of the soon-to-be-replaced span over two dozen tracks of the BNSF rail yard, the city announced Friday.

On May 30, the bridge was closed indefinitely; apparently too many overweight vehicles were crossing in violation of the 3-ton weight limit.

The ban on vehicles remains until further notice. About 4,200 vehicles a day had been crossing the bridge.

The city is in the process of replacing the entire truss bridge, with construction expected to begin in 2015 and reopen to traffic in late 2016.

Paul Walsh