KEARNEY, Neb. (AP) — Work has begun on replacing the Fort Kearny Hike-Bike Trail pedestrian bridge, but it likely won’t be finished by the time thousands of migrating sandhill cranes start arriving in the area, along with ecotourists and bird lovers.

Two temporary exits have been fashioned off the eastbound lanes of Interstate 80, just north of the bridge site, for use only by construction-related vehicles. Construction equipment and materials, including about half of a crane, already have been delivered to a staging area. The rest of the crane should arrive soon and be assembled by the end of this week.

A March 2009 wildfire destroyed the 300-foot-long wooden railroad channel bridge over the north channel of the Platte River.