DULUTH, Minn. (AP) -- The Blatnik bridge from Duluth to Wisconsin will close beginning Thursday so crews can strengthen steel plates that help hold the bridge together.

One lane of the bridge will stay open so traffic from Superior, Wisconsin, can get to Duluth. But drivers headed east into Superior will need to take a detour across the Bong bridge on U.S. Highway 2.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation says the work will be done six days a week, 10 hours a day to minimize the length of the closure. The work is expected to take two weeks if the weather cooperates.

Once it's done, the project will flip, and the westbound lanes into Duluth will close, and the eastbound lanes into Superior will open.

Last month two lanes of the bridge were closed to lessen the load on the bridge after inspectors determined that its steel plates were not strong enough.