Saskatchewan's Ministry of Highways closed the old Highway 35 bridge in Nipawin Wednesday due to its deteriorating condition.

"It's definitely been approaching the end of its service life for some time," said Patrick Book, a spokesperson for the ministry.

The bridge was built in 1931 and was originally meant to close down after the construction of a replacement bridge on Highway 55 located five kilometres away.

A third-party inspection done late last week revealed that one of the structures for the roadway approach spans showed signs of overloading. The inspector recommended that the bridge be immediately closed. More than 600 vehicles use the bridge every day, the ministry said.

"I was really shocked and upset when I heard because it's been in this community for so many years," said Shirley Phillips, who lives in Nipawin, and is a member of the town's historical society.

Phillips said many people live on the west side of the bridge and depend on it to cross the river, but will now have to take a detour.

Before the railway was built, people used to take ferries and use cable cars in order to cross the Saskatchewan river, she said.

According to the ministry, the rail portion of the bridge will continue to operate, but the roadway traffic portion will shut down.

Book said that while there's no imminent danger, the ministry wanted to remain cautious.

"We want to err on the side of caution and make sure that we are doing everything we can to prevent something unfortunate from happening," he said.

The ministry said it understands the impacts the closure will have on the community and apologized for the short notice.

It hasn't been decided yet on whether the closure is temporary or permanent.