SPENCER, Neb. (AP) — Officials say a temporary bridge has been opened to traffic over the Niobrara River in northern Nebraska.

The bridge was damaged and its southern approach on U.S. Highway 281 was washed away when the Spencer Dam upstream was destroyed by mammoth ice chunks and onrushing water during the March flooding.

The Nebraska Transportation Department says the temporary bridge south of Spencer will be open to one-lane traffic controlled by a traffic signal, with a 12-foot-wide (3.7 meters) width restriction.

The new bridge is expected to be finished by November next year.